City officials visit Kingsbridge businesses to promote resources and Business Owner Bill of Rights

Editor's note 9/21/26: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Our Bronx Co-Organizing Director as David Garcia. His name is Edward Garcia. 

The city’s department of small business services teamed up with Council member Pierina Sanchez and Our Bronx, formerly the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, on Sept 1. for a door-to-door business outreach effort near the Kingsbridge Armory.

Seven teams fanned out along the commercial corridor carrying information about city programs and the Business Owner Bill of Rights, a formal city document that establishes protections for small business owners — ensuring the right to transparent communication with the city and assistance from municipal agencies.

The effort was aimed at closing a gap city officials and organizers say persists even with myriad existing resources, as many merchants do not know where to find them, how to use them or what protections they have when dealing with city agencies.

“Today is all about empowerment,” Sanchez said at the event. “It’s making sure that they know what their rights are. It’s making sure that they know where to look for information and where to turn if they have any questions about, if they do unfortunately receive a violation, what can they do?”

The city updated the Business Owner Bill of Rights in July, laying out a series of protections for merchants. Among them are the right to clear information about city rules, access to information in languages other than English, fair and coordinated inspections, and respectful treatment from city workers.

It also says owners should receive guidance to correct problems before penalties are imposed whenever possible, clear explanations of violations and options to contest or appeal them. Business owners can also request interpretation during inspections and administrative proceedings and provide anonymous feedback about their experience with city government without fear of retaliation.

For Sanchez, however, putting those protections online was not enough, with a small business services survey finding that just 9 percent of city businesses reported knowing a bill of rights existed.

“If you don’t have the conversation in person directly, it’s not clear that they are receiving that information,” Sanchez said. “So it’s really important to go to them directly.”

Before heading over to storefronts on that rainy morning, David Coreas, small business services’ executive director of outreach and its minority and women-owned business enterprise recruiter, told participants to introduce small business services by explaining that merchants are entitled to resources that can help them operate and grow their businesses.

Small business services Commissioner Kenny Minaya said going door to door was also meant to signal a broader change in how the city interacts with small businesses.

“I think it’s important for small business owners to know that the Mamdani administration is ushering in a new era for small businesses,” Minaya said. “There’s no stronger way, no stronger message to send than to have the commissioner personally visit them at their door, hand out the new Business Owner Bill of Rights and tell them about the great programming we have at SBS.”

Among those programs is NYC BEST, which Minaya said can provide compliance education to help businesses avoid fines and fees. For businesses trying to open, he said, the program can also serve as a single point of contact for navigating city agencies and securing permits.

Our Bronx joined the effort because of its existing relationships with merchants along the corridor, said Edward Garcia, the nonprofit’s director of organizing. He said businesses can know assistance exists without knowing how to actually obtain it.

Among those with whom officials spoke along the corridor was Miguel Ramos, manager of JP 99¢ UP Express Inc. at 20 W. Kingsbridge Road, who said he has worked there for more than 30 years and has watched nearby businesses disappear.

It is upsetting to see businesses in the area slowly close down, Ramos said.

Rent keeps rising, Ramos said, while uncertainty over his store’s lease has left him worried about its future.

“So I’m scared that we might be next,” he said, adding that he is living “day by day.”

Ramos said it had been roughly two years since he had spoken with the small-business contacts he once worked with. He planned to research the information handed out during the visit to see whether it could help the store.

At MC Bakery and Coffeeshop, at 58 W. Kingsbridge Road, Claritica Noba, who helps her sister run the roughly 7-month-old business, said she had not previously known about some of the resources presented during the visit.

“It feels good because they give you information that you didn’t know before,” Noba said, adding she previously found some business resources were difficult to find, particularly because she did not know where to look for them.

The outreach effort comes as the area surrounding the long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory is poised to receive greater attention through its redevelopment. Sanchez said that makes strengthening existing businesses along the corridor particularly important.

“Certainly, it’s important for us to walk the Kingsbridge corridor so that as more attention comes to the corridor, as more, you know, interest sparks, that the folks know that they have the right to stay,” she said.