Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights Businesses Added To Prestigious Program

BROOKLYN, NY — Five Brooklyn businesses are among the newest members of a prestigious program aimed this year at helping with pandemic recovery, including three in Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy.

A book store, tea house and barber shop from the two neighborhoods were accepted this week into Goldman Sachs' "10,000 Small Businesses," a national program that helps businesses with growth plans with the help of increasing revenue and creating more jobs.

The Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy businesses were among five in Brooklyn admitted to the program chosen by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.

"We are proud that our five identified exceptional, Brooklyn small business owners will be joining Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and taking their already successful businesses to even greater heights," Chamber President Randy Peers said. "Now more than ever, it is vital to ensure our small businesses have all the resources needed to not only grow but thrive."

The program comes as businesses in Brooklyn and across New York struggle to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Twenty percent of Brooklyn's small businesses have shut down in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, according to the organizations.

Each of the businesses chosen will get support services and access to capital through the Goldman Sachs program. According to the company, more than two-thirds of alumni from the 10,000 Small Businesses program increased their revenue and nearly half created new jobs within the first six months of graduating.

Here are the Brooklyn businesses that made the cut, along with their owners:

• Monique Benjamin, Nicholas Brooklyn
• Michelle Cadore, Da Spot NYC
• Delroy Levy, Likkle More Carib Inc
• Jamila McGill, Brooklyn Tea
• Cindy Morris, Camera Ready Kutz