'Small Business Angel Fund' Offers Brooklyn Coronavirus Loans

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — A pair of Brooklyn politicians want to hook up small business owners and contractors touched by the new coronavirus with a guardian angel.

The "angel" in question is the Small Business Angel Fund, which is offering two types of interest-free loans designed to help neighborhood businesses through the pandemic.

They're open to small businesses and contractors based in City Councilman Brad Lander's 39th District and state Assembly Member Robert Carroll's 44th District, according to a release.

Together, they represent a wide swath of Brooklyn including Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington and parts of other neighborhoods west of Prospect Park.

"One of the heartbreaking parts of this crisis has been walking past the darkened doors of many beloved neighborhood businesses," Lander said in a statement. "In conversations with small business owners in my district, I’ve heard over and over how difficult it is to get and then use the federal relief programs for small businesses."

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The loans will be made with the help of Greg Perlman and Michael Clark with The Change Reaction, a group that partners with elected officials and local organizations to support small business. They'll partner with the Hebrew Free Loan Society to offer 0-percent interest loans up to $25,000 for small businesses that are still open and need support, as well as $3,000 to $7,500 loans for independent contracts and business owners who were required to close because of the state's PAUSE order, a release states.

More information, including how to apply, can be found on Lander's website.

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