Deputy Mayors Holloway and Steel, and Speaker Quinn Take Steps to Include Retail Stores in Successful Business Acceleration Program 
Deputy Mayors Holloway and Steel, and Speaker Quinn Take Steps to Include Retail Stores in Successful Business Acceleration Program
Launch of NYC Retail Survey to Guide Expansion of New Business Acceleration Team
Program Cut 75 Days Off Permitting Process for Restaurants, Helping More Than 600 Restaurants Open and Create Jobs Faster
As part of the New York City’s work to make it easier to open a business here, Deputy Mayor for Operations Caswell F. Holloway, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel, and Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn today launched the NYC Retail Survey, the first step in the expansion of the successful New Business Acceleration Team (NBAT). The program, announced by Mayor Bloomberg in his 2010 State of the City address and launched in partnership with the Speaker, streamlined the permitting process to help more than 600 restaurants open their doors an average of 75 days faster, creating jobs and revenue. The NYC Retail Survey will use the feedback from retail and storefront service business owners to inform how to best improve experiences with City government and encourage economic development.
“We want the New Business Acceleration Team to carry its success from the restaurant industry to the retail sector and others, and this survey will ensure that we target the most critical issues that business owners face when they interact with the City,” Deputy Mayor Holloway said. “And thanks to our strong partnership with Speaker Quinn and the City Council, we’ll work together to address those issues as quickly as possible to keep New York City growing.”
“Creating a pro-growth, business-friendly environment has been at the center of Mayor Bloomberg’s economic development strategy, and by expanding the highly successful NBAT model to retail we will help even more businesses get open faster,” Deputy Mayor Steel said. “We want to make it as efficient as possible for businesses to comply with necessary regulations so they can serve more customers and hire more New Yorkers.”
“We’ve seen the value NBAT has brought to the restaurant industry, and now this new survey is a great step toward fully expanding the program into the retail sector,” said Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “We look forward to working with Deputy Mayors Holloway and Steel, the Bloomberg Administration, and the city’s many retail business owners to ensure the program’s continued success and benefits to our economy.”
The NYC Retail Survey will inform how to best expand NBAT and meet the needs of the retail industry. The survey asks business owners to identify the City agencies they interact with in the process of opening, their level of satisfaction with their experiences, and the biggest challenges they face now that they are in operation. The feedback will help to identify areas where the City can provide the most valuable support to retail businesses. The survey is available at www.nyc.gov/retailsurvey and will be online through Friday, March 2. It will be made available in additional languages.
NBAT launched as a pilot program in March 2010 and initially offered its services to restaurant owners because of the additional regulatory requirements made of food servicers. The program has worked with qualifying businesses to schedule and coordinate plan exams and required inspections from City agencies, including the New York City Fire Department, the Health Department and Department of Buildings. NBAT also designates a single point of contact to help business owners understand and meet requirements. By helping provide new restaurants with the answers and services they need from City government, businesses were able to open their doors faster, and in the process, create jobs for New Yorkers sooner than planned and generate additional revenue for the City.
To learn more about NBAT or how to participate, visit nyc.gov or call 311.
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