Upcoming Events, Legislative News,  Grant Opportunities, & More

(Friday) Extra, Extra Click here for this week's video: Chamber President Lisa Sorin and the team are back with your Bronx business and community updates! - Intro 991 - Licensing Hotels bill and City Council hearing next Tues. 7/30 (*details and important links below in Legislative Updates section)  Lisa's vision for the AI-themed 2024 Bronx Chamber Gala and our one-of-a-kind emcee - Alexis showcases her bocce skills in anticipation of the Bronx Chamber Summer BBQ on 8/1 - Happy Anniversary to the Mall at Bay Plaza

Summer Hours: The Bronx Chamber office is on a 4-day schedule, closed every Friday through 8/30/24

LEGISLATIVE & REGULATORY UPDATES

Below is a recently-introduced piece of legislation of interest to our Bronx business community pertaining to Hotel Licensing: Intro 991, sponsored by Council Member Julie Menin: This bill would require hotels to obtain a license in order to operate their business in the City. The application term would be one year, and there would be an annual fee of $200. Large hotels would be required to maintain continuous front desk coverage and have at least one security guard. All hotels would be required to maintain the cleanliness of each guest room. The licensee would be required to directly employ all core and critical employees, who would be subject to safety trainings. The department of consumer and worker protection could refuse to issue or renew a license, or suspend or revoke a license if the hotel violates the conditions of the license. Hotels that violate the license conditions would be subject to civil penalties. (Committee: Consumer & Worker Protection) Co-sponsoring Council Members: Crystal Hudson, Carmen De La Rosa, Shaun Abreu, Oswald Feliz, Julie Won, Chris Banks, Lynn Schulman, Shekar Krishnan, Linda Lee, Jennifer Gutierrez, Francisco Moya, Justin Brannan, James Gennaro, Nantasha Williams, Sandra Ung, Chi Osse, Susan Zhuang, Rita Joseph, Keith Powers, Pierina Ana Sanchez, Erik Bottcher, Alexa Aviles, Lincoln Restler, Chris Marte, Joann Ariola  Our concerns regarding impact on hotels in the Bronx: As this bill stands now it will increase costs for hotels, and in turn make it more expensive for the consumer. In addition, revoking a potential license for a hotel based on an outage of wi-fi or an elevator is not reasonable, and we stand to lose any potential development of new hotels in our borough.  Learn More About Potential Impacts Here We encourage all Bronx businesses who may be impacted by this legislation to contact your representatives to express concerns about Int 991 - CLICK HERE for a list of City Council Representatives and their contact information The Bronx Chamber of Commerce will be testifying in person in front of the NYC Council at the Consumer and Worker Protection hearing scheduled for this coming Tuesday, July 30th at 10:00AM. Be sure to visit our website Advocacy page for weekly Bronx Business Legislative Updates

REMINDER: Dining Out NYC Deadline is August 3 Food service establishments (FSEs) currently participating in the temporary outdoor dining program must apply to the Dining Out NYC program by August 3, 2024, to continue operating their current temporary outdoor dining setup. If an FSE has not submitted a Dining Out NYC application by the deadline, they must remove their current temporary outdoor dining setup at their sole cost and expense. Both sidewalk and roadway cafes require a license and revocable consent from NYC DOT. The revocable consent and license will each have a four-year term. Learn more: The NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) will be hosting an online Q&A session this coming Monday, July 29 at 12:30pm. Register here.

NYC Charter Review Commission Final Report Click here to view the press release from the Mayor’s office announcing the final report from the 2024 New York City Charter Review Commission.   The report presents five ballot proposals related to cleaner streets, fiscal responsibility, public safety, capital planning, minority-and women-owned businesses, and modernization of city policies related to film permitting and archival review.    The Commission voted to adopt the report’s ballot proposals at a final public meeting yesterday, July 25.

BRONX CHAMBER 2024 GALA

Gala Registration Is Now Open Our annual gala is 7 weeks away! Sponsorship and VIP opportunities, tickets, tables, and more are now available ICYMI: Click here for a special announcement from SOPHIA - our never-before-seen Master of Ceremonies - who will join us to demystify AI and showcase its many possibilities to evolve commerce in our borough, as celebrate this year's Honorees:   DJ Ambulette, Business of the Year   Monroe College, Community Organization of the Year   Lemle & Wolff Companies, Developer of the Year   Amazon, recipient of the Joseph P. Kelleher Excellence Award Thursday, September 19, 2024 Marina Del Rey, Bronx, NY 6:30 - 11:00pm Last year’s sold-out gala brought together over 600 executives, community leaders & supporters to celebrate our Honorees - and this year's theme is not to be missed! Anything Is possible… Sincere thanks to our first round of Sponsors (list in formation):   Bronx Champions: Amazon, DJ Ambulette, Monroe College, Lemle & Wolff Companies   Bronx Partner: DoorDash   Bronx Supporters: Affinity by Molina Healthcare, Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts

LEARN HOW TO BECOME PART OF OUR GALA

UPCOMING BRONX CHAMBER SUMMER EVENTS

Bronx Chamber Summer BBQ Thursday, August 1 6:00 - 9:00pm Pelham Split Rock Golf Course Member Pricing: $70/ticket Non-Member Tickets: $80/ea. Join us for delicious food and drinks*, serene views, lawn games for a little friendly competition, a live DJ and dancing, and facilitated networking with the Bronx Chamber team to build new Bronx business & community connections. Your next great deal could follow a dance-off, high-energy round of our famous Chamber speed networking, or a spirited game of cornhole! *Ticket pricing includes complimentary beer, wine, sparkling wine and soft drinks, as well as a hearty buffet & pig roast

CLICK HERE FOR BBQ TICKETS

Bronx GameChangers Night With Special Guest Jim "The King" Leyritz! Friday, August 9 at 7:05pm Yankee Stadium $250/Members • $300/Non-Members This is your chance to meet a Yankee legend! Join us for an exclusive Bronx experience and prime networking as the New York Yankees take on the 2023 World Series Champion Texas Rangers Friday, August 9! (Suite opens at 6:30pm, game time is 7:05) Enjoy the game in climate-controlled comfort from an all-inclusive luxury suite with private stadium entrance - your ticket includes an open bar, dinner, a great view of the diamond, and - a special Meet & Greet with World Series Champion Jim Leyritz! Don't miss this opportunity to connect with Bronx business and community leaders, partners and supporters working to make our borough thrive. *ACT FAST - SPACE IS VERY LIMITED*

GET YOUR SUITE TICKETS HERE

CHAMBER NEWS MEMBER & PARTNER OPPORTUNITIES

Celebrate the 1-Year Anniversary of Bronx Chamber Member Mind-Body-Hair Salon tomorrow, July 27 from 11:00am - 5:00pm! This event is open to the community and dedicated to honoring and embracing natural hair. Enjoy light food, refreshments, lively music and raffles with friends and colleagues, and be part of the special ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Bronx Chamber! RSVP HERE Avenue NYC Program Graduation Our Outreach Manager Darry Saldana represented the Bronx Chamber at last week's Avenue NYC graduation, showcasing of our accomplishments in the Mott Haven commercial corridor as stewards of a 3-year Avenue NYC Commercial Revitalization grant. It was an honor to join our fellow grantees from across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan for this celebration of our hard work! Attention Bronx Small Businesses: Hire CUNY Alumni! Take Action Before August 23 Internship to Employment provides opportunities for recent CUNY grads to intern for 12 weeks with NYC small businesses, with the aim of converting the internships into employment.  CUNY Provides: Recruiting qualified CUNY graduates for your business; 12 weeks of paid internship; support of CUNY I2E staff who are responsible for intern recruitment; program management; intern payroll; wage reimbursement for up to $10/hour for 35 hours per week for the 16 weeks following the internship; rofessional development workshops during both the internship and employment periods CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND START THE HIRING PROCESS Support Local Restaurants ICYMI: It's NYC Summer Restaurant Week! 2-course lunches and 3-course dinners at $30, $45 and $60. NYC Restaurant Week runs through August 18 (with some restaurants offering their menus through September 1) CLICK TO BOOK AT A PARTICIPATING BRONX RESTAURANT

 

DIGITAL TOOLS FOR GROWTH

OPEN + ONLINE Applications are still open for Bronx businesses to sign up for the popular Open + Online program through the NYC Small Business Resource Network! It's crucial that your small business has a strong online presence to compete in today's marketplace. The Open + Online program offers FREE website building, logo & branding design, or expert SEO (search engine optimization) consulting to help your small business put its best foot forward. APPLY HERE WEBSITE UPDATES: CITY & STATE LEGISLATION Check out the latest Bronx Chamber website updates for city and state legislation policy news impacting your business, plus events, resources and much more. To visit our website, Click Here FUNDING, CERTIFICATION, & OTHER RESOURCES Free Recruitment Services For Businesses NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) can help you hire the right employees at no cost. Their pool of 100,000+ candidates contains qualified individuals in industries like food services, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, transportation, and warehousing. Free services include:    Sourcing job seekers   Recruiting and screening candidates based on your needs, referring the most qualified   Scheduling interviews to help you save time and focus on your core business NYC Small Business Emergency Preparedness Assessments & Grants Your small business or commercial property may be eligible for a free on-site, one-on-one risk assessment. A team of experts will come to your business to:    Review your physical space, operations, and insurance coverage    Provide a custom report to prepare your business for future disruptions   After the assessment, you may receive a grant of up to $5,000 to buy recommended resiliency equipment, such as flood barriers, generators, and fireproof storage containers. Program participants can receive a grant of up to $5,000 to cover the costs of recommended measures or certain types of resiliency equipment such as portable flood barriers, generators, and fire-proof storage containers. Application Priority Deadline: Business PREP Risk Assessment and Grant Program will be prioritizing applicants whose annual revenue does not exceed $17 million until July 26, 2024. Awardees will be determined on a first-come, first-served basis, based on the order in which applicants have submitted a complete application. APPLY HERE To Get Started: complete and submit this online form.  NYC Funds Finder NYC's Department of Small Business Services (SBS) and Next Street are offering a user-friendly platform, NYC Funds Finder, where small businesses can review funding options, including loans and grants, and request free 1-on-1 financing assistance from the SBS team.  NYC Funds Finder is a partnership between SBS and Next Street and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. Next Street Scale, the platform that powers NYC Funds Finder, was created to address the hurdles that small businesses, especially those run by women and minorities, face in accessing the resources required to grow their business and build wealth.  M/WBE Certification: Unlocking Opportunities The Bronx Chamber of Commerce is proud to partner with NYC SBS to help guide you through the application process of getting certified as a Minority/Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE). This certification program, offered by NYC Small Business Services, is a critical initiative aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion in government contracting and procurement processes. The program seeks to create opportunities for businesses owned and operated by minority individuals and women, ensuring they have fair access to government contracts and economic opportunities, opens your business up to increased opportunities from New York City agencies, free advertising in the NYC Online Directory of Certified Businesses, mentorship programs and workshops, networking events, and more. The City has committed to awarding $16 billion in contracts to M/WBE certified organizations over the next decade--don’t miss out! Are you eligible? (Qualification checklist below) Business is legally authorized to transact business in New York City Business has been in operation for at least one year Business is more than 51% minority and/or woman owned If you are interested in applying, or for more information on M/WBE certification, contact Chanel Perez at Programs@bronxchamber.org For the complete Bronx Chamber Events Calendar, featuring educational workshops, networking events and other opportunities hosted by the Chamber, its members, & partners, please visit and bookmark our website events calendar link in your browser - new events are added weekly!