NEW YORK, NY — New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin has announced $200,000 in discretionary funding to help small businesses buy and install panic buttons and other security technology. The money is intended to give owners fast support as the city works toward a longer-term security assistance program.
The initiative is aimed at protecting business owners, workers, and customers while also helping shops respond to retail theft concerns. Funding will be distributed evenly across the city’s five boroughs through the Five Borough Chamber Alliance Initiative.
Each borough chamber will work with local small businesses to help cover the cost of security tools. City leaders say the effort is designed to reach retailers that need help now, before the permanent program required under Local Law 120 is fully in place.
Funding will be split evenly among the five boroughs
The Council’s $200,000 investment will be divided equally among Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. The Five Borough Chamber Alliance Initiative will oversee how the money reaches businesses in each borough.
According to the city, the chambers will help identify small businesses that can use financial assistance for security technology. The program is meant to make the process practical for storefront owners who may not have the cash to pay upfront for upgrades.
Speaker Menin said the goal is to put resources directly into the hands of New Yorkers and help small businesses protect their workers and livelihoods. She described the funding as a way to strengthen public safety while supporting the city’s local economy.
Panic buttons and security tools are meant to help curb retail theft
The funding can be used for panic buttons and related security technology designed to improve safety inside small businesses. City officials say the equipment is meant to help deter theft and give employees and customers a better way to respond during emergencies.
Menin framed the effort as a response to the pressures small retailers face when theft becomes a recurring expense. Business losses, she said, can threaten both jobs and neighborhood commercial corridors.
Supporters of the program argued that even a brief period of heavy theft can hit small shops especially hard. The aim is to help owners put practical safeguards in place before more serious losses occur.
Local Law 120 sets up a permanent security assistance program
The new Council funding comes ahead of Local Law 120, which requires the Department of Small Business Services or another agency chosen by the mayor to create a small retail business security system program. That permanent program will provide financial help to eligible small retailers for security technology.
City officials say the Council money is meant to serve as a bridge while the longer-term system is developed. In other words, the funding is designed to fill the gap between the law’s requirements and the city’s rollout of a formal program.
Under that framework, eligible businesses would be able to seek help lowering the cost of purchasing and installing security systems. The city has not yet finished building out the permanent program.
Eligibility focuses on the smallest storefronts and underserved corridors
Businesses eligible for the funding include ground-floor retail establishments with 50 or fewer employees. The city says the priority will go to stores outside Business Improvement Districts and to businesses in low- to moderate-income communities.
Minority- and women-owned businesses will also be prioritized. Officials say that approach is intended to send resources to commercial corridors that have the greatest need and may have the fewest options for paying for security upgrades on their own.
The program is meant to help businesses that might otherwise delay or skip safety investments because of cost. By targeting smaller retailers first, the Council and chamber partners hope to make the money stretch where it can have the most immediate effect.
Chambers from Manhattan to Staten Island say the aid is urgently needed
Leaders from the city’s chamber network welcomed the funding and said it could make a difference for neighborhood businesses. Manhattan Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jessica Walker said the smallest shops are often hit hardest by retail theft and may not be able to absorb a major loss.
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Randy Peers said the investment would help provide needed security infrastructure. Queens Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Grech said his organization is prepared to distribute funds promptly and fairly to members who need help.
Bronx Chamber of Commerce President Lisa Sorin said business owners should not have to choose between staying open and feeling safe. Staten Island Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Linda Baran said the money will help put practical tools within reach for businesses that could not otherwise afford them.
Council oversight will track how the money is used
The Council plans to expand the scope of the Five Borough Chamber Alliance Initiative through its October Transparency Resolution so the new funding can be included. Each borough chamber will receive an equal share of the allocation.
The chambers will also have to report to the Council’s Finance Division on how the program is implemented. That reporting will include the criteria used to select participating businesses.
Attorney General Letitia James also praised the effort, saying small businesses are the backbone of the city’s communities. She pointed to enforcement work against retail theft operations and said her office will continue pursuing thieves while the city helps businesses protect themselves.
