Committee on Small Business meeting
March 23, 2026, 12:30 PM
The Committee on Small Business held its FY2027 preliminary budget hearing on the Department of Small Business Services. The committee took testimony and recorded no votes.
What was discussed
- Chair Thomas-Henry's opening statement on the SBS preliminary budget Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry opened her first preliminary budget hearing, acknowledging the LaGuardia Airport collision and laying out the Department of Small Business Services' fiscal 2027 preliminary budget: $115.3 million for SBS operations plus $70.2 million in pass-through funding, a
- Swearing in of SBS witnesses The Committee Counsel administered the oath to the Department of Small Business Services panel before testimony.
- Commissioner Minaya's testimony on the SBS fiscal 2027 budget Commissioner Kenny Minaya, in his first appearance since taking office, testified that SBS's fiscal 2027 preliminary budget is $185.5 million (about 38% pass-through) with 397 authorized positions. He highlighted the newly launched $80 million NYC Future Fund revenue-based loan program, NYC BEST
- How will NYC BEST serve 2,500 businesses before its 30 new positions are filled? Commissioner Kenny Minaya told Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry that none of the 30 new NYC BEST positions ($2M in FY26, baselined at $4M) have been filled yet, with a March 31 hiring hall planned; 14 staff currently run the program, which has served 3,000 businesses this fiscal year at roughly
- Why is SBS's vacancy rate more than four times the citywide average? Commissioner Kenny Minaya told Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry that the headline 23% vacancy rate largely reflects pass-through entities SBS does not control; the agency's own rate is closer to 10%. He attributed vacancies chiefly to the two-for-one hiring freeze in place since October 2023 and
- How is SBS helping small businesses in high-vacancy commercial corridors? Commissioner Kenny Minaya told Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry that SBS supports high-vacancy corridors through its commercial lease assistance program (legal help negotiating and renewing leases) and Avenue NYC grants to nonprofits for corridor revitalization. He gave a citywide commercial
- Will the new Business Solutions Center RFP end the Industrial Business Service Provider program? Council Member Alexa Avilés pressed the agency on a March RFP she said would dismantle the Industrial Business Service Provider (IBSP) program by folding it into Business Solutions Centers with a single staffer per borough. Commissioner Kenny Minaya and Chief of Staff Haris Khan said the intent is
- Has SBS modeled the loss of the federal funding it depends on? Council Member Virginia Maloney noted roughly $43 million (nearly 40% of SBS's standalone budget) is federal and asked about clawback scenarios and a 17% drop in system-wide hires. Commissioner Kenny Minaya said all indications are the funding will remain as allocated and cited serving 100,000 New
- Why is rising Workforce One traffic not translating into more job placements? Council Member Yusef Salaam cited a 12% rise in Workforce One walk-ins against a 17.5% drop in hires and a 33.7% fall in training enrollment, and pressed for a federal-funding contingency plan. Commissioner Kenny Minaya attributed the declines to a reporting lag he expects to even out by year-end
- How is SBS ensuring services and businesses are accessible to people with disabilities? Council Member Shahana K. Hanif, as Disabilities Committee Chair, asked how SBS coordinates with MOPD and CCHR on accessibility. Commissioner Kenny Minaya and Chief of Staff Haris Khan said SBS is not a regulator but educates business owners on ADA duties, keeps its own portals WCAG-compliant
- How does the industrial RFP affect Staten Island's longstanding IBSP provider? Council Member Frank Morano pressed on the March 9 RFP restructuring industrial business support in his borough. Commissioner Kenny Minaya and Chief of Staff Haris Khan said the goal is citywide availability rather than a judgment on current providers, that the RFP requires five years of industrial
- Why have MWBE contract awards declined even as SBS exceeds its targets? Commissioner Kenny Minaya and Chief of Staff Haris Khan told Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry (relaying a question from Council Member Selvena N. Brooks-Powers) that SBS handles certification, capacity-building, and the Get Certified list while the Office of MWBE sets policy and drives awards.
- What explains the drop in SBS's budget while headcount stays flat? Finance Chair Linda Lee asked why the budget falls sharply from FY26 to FY27 with roughly level headcount. Commissioner Kenny Minaya and First Deputy Commissioner Michael Forte attributed it to EDC pass-through funding, three fewer contracts (the largest a $31.2M EDC contract), SBS program contracts
- How will the NYC Future Fund work, and can it stay sustainable? Questioned by Finance Chair Linda Lee and Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry, Commissioner Kenny Minaya and First Deputy Commissioner Michael Forte described the $80 million NYC Future Fund as the city's first revenue-based small-business loan (payments scale to monthly revenue, minimum loans of
- What fines and fees will SBS help cut under Executive Order 11? Commissioner Kenny Minaya told Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry (including a relayed Brooks-Powers question) that SBS, though not a regulatory agency itself, has compiled the inventory of partner agencies' fines and penalties under Executive Order 11 and is reviewing it to bring legislative
- Has the MENA community been added to the MWBE disparity study? Commissioner Kenny Minaya and Chief of Staff Haris Khan told Council Member Shahana K. Hanif that the disparity study has concluded and briefings are coming, previewing that a lack of citywide MENA data hampered the analysis; SBS added a first-ever self-identification option in the Passport system
- How is SBS shaping Dining Out NYC and BID trash containerization? Chief of Staff Haris Khan told Council Member Shahana K. Hanif that SBS advised DOT on the Dining Out NYC user experience and supports a year-round, less burdensome version, and that SBS connected DSNY early with BID leaders on containerization; he said no BID has reported a funding shortfall given
- What is SBS doing about vacant storefronts, immigrant SBA loan losses, and language access? Commissioner Kenny Minaya told Council Member Gale A. Brewer that SBS still contracts for storefront-vacancy data and counters vacancies through commercial lease assistance and Executive Order 11 red-tape cuts, has launched an 'AI Unlocked' training series, is filling the immigrant SBA-loan gap with
- Why can't SBS trace the industry of most Workforce One hires, and is a sub-$20 wage enough? First Deputy Commissioner Michael Forte and Commissioner Kenny Minaya told Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry that many of the 22,500 hires are validated through W-4 matching with the State Department of Labor, which confirms employment but not industry — hence the 'unknown' job categories — while
- How do SBS's hiring halls and Jobs NYC reach New Yorkers, and do workforce agencies coordinate? Chief of Staff Haris Khan and First Deputy Commissioner Michael Forte told Council Members Shanel Thomas-Henry and Gale A. Brewer that Jobs NYC hiring halls (now three a month in high-unemployment neighborhoods) have served 16,000 New Yorkers and placed over 5,000, featuring on-site interviews and
Agenda
1 item
- T2026-1377 New York City Council Budget and Oversight Hearings on The Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2027, The Preliminary Capital Plan for Fiscal Years 2027-2030 and The Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report 12:30 p.m. Department of Small Business Services 1:30 p.m. Public Hearing Held by Committee