The Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD) thanks Small Business Committee Chair Shanel Thomas-Henry, and members of the Committee, for the opportunity to submit testimony on Int 90, Int 874, and Int 578.
About the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development
ANHD is one of New York City’s lead policy, advocacy, and technical assistance and capacity-building organizations. We maintain a membership of 80+ neighborhood-based and citywide nonprofit organizations that have affordable housing and/or equitable economic development as a central component of their mission. We are an essential voice, bridging the power and impact of our member groups to build community power and ensure the right to affordable housing and thriving, equitable neighborhoods for all New Yorkers. We value justice, equity and opportunity, and we believe in the importance of movement building that centers marginalized communities in our work. Across 5 decades and 5 boroughs we have consistently focused on addressing New York’s housing affordability crisis, displacement, and economic inequity to build community power.
ANHD’s work directly supports the needs of our members who develop, manage, and organize to preserve affordable housing, and who fight to bring equity into low-wealth communities in New York City—especially communities of color. Our groups rely on us for technical assistance and capacity-building resources that allow them to maximize their resources, skills and impact. The support services, research, analysis, public education, and coalition building we do helps to identify patterns of local neighborhood experiences and uplift citywide priorities and needs. Our work translates into the capacity to win new programs, policies and systems that ensure the creation and preservation of deeply and permanently affordable housing, and economic justice.
Int 90-2026 (Brewer): Lease agreements concerning storefront premises.
Int 90, which would make commercial leases and lease renewal options mandatory for retail storefronts, is an important first step in the direction of commercial tenant protection. The rent increase allowances for lease extensions also act as further protection for commercial tenants who might otherwise be subjected to unreasonable rent increases in their lease extensions. ANHD supports Int 90 and urges the Council to pass a version that would apply broadly to retail and non-retail commercial spaces.
The bill as currently written would apply to premises that are or could be used to sell goods at retail, which excludes industrial businesses and manufacturing spaces. The language of this legislation should be expanded to include industrial businesses. As we detail further below, the industrial sector plays a crucial role in creating a more equitable, thriving, and functioning New York City. At the same time, the industrial sector is facing displacement pressures from increased rents and the reduction of industrially zoned land. These businesses need the same protections that Int 90 would offer to retail businesses and we urge the Council to include them in this legislation.
Within a landscape of rapidly rising rent and a lack of structural protections for commercial tenants, a lease is often the only form of protection available to them. However, according to data from a 2023 ANHD survey, one in 10 small businesses self-reported not having a lease. In our experience with members doing small business outreach and merchant organizing, New York City’s most marginalized brick-and-mortar businesses frequently do not have leases, leaving them without any legal protection from their landlords and without long-term security for their business. Furthermore, businesses without a lease are often ineligible for grant and loan programs that require documentation.
At the same time, those who have leases are not immune to displacement threats, and favorable lease terms can be difficult to negotiate, especially for immigrant and non-English speaking commercial tenants. The Commercial Lease Assistance (CLA) Program, the city’s free program for navigating commercial leasing, is an important resource that we are heartened to see expanded in this year’s budget. We urge the City Council to continue to advocate for more resources like the CLA Program so that the impact of Int 90 and the security of a fair lease can reach every single New York City small business.
Int 874-2026 (Maloney): Establishing a legacy business registry and preservation fund.
ANHD is aligned with the goal of Int 874, which establishes a legacy business registry and preservation fund, and we are excited to support anti-displacement legislation for small businesses. However, we are concerned that Int 874 may have the unintended consequence of favoring certain types of businesses over others. We would like to see legislation that more broadly protects both long-term businesses and also new businesses established by immigrant families, local entrepreneurs, and other New Yorkers. We welcome the opportunity to work with the Council to advance our shared goal of protecting the small businesses that make up the economic and cultural backbone of New York City’s neighborhoods.
Int 578-2026 (Gutierrez): Reforming the industrial business zone boundary commission.
ANHD supports Int. No. 578 and its efforts to strengthen the process governing changes to New York City’s Industrial Business Zones (IBZs).
As a convener of the Industrial Jobs Coalition (IJC), a city-wide coalition of IBSPs, non-profit developers of industrial space, and industrial policy advocates, ANHD and our member organizations have long advocated for increased support for the industrial sector. The industrial sector plays a crucial role in creating a more equitable, thriving, and functioning New York City. Industrial businesses pay higher wages and offer more career opportunities to a workforce that is 67% people of color and 70% of whom do not have a college degree. 33% of all NYC jobs that pay over $50,000 and do not require a college degree are industrial jobs. Preserving and growing these jobs lies at the heart of a true equitable economic development strategy.
Yet this sector is under constant threat today, including from the shrinking of industrially zoned land. Industrial Business Zones are an essential tool in combating this – supporting the preservation and growth of the industrial sector by providing dedicated areas for such businesses to operate without the threat of a rezoning away from industrial use. Changing an existing IBZ boundary should be a deliberate, transparent process grounded in the actual economic conditions of the district.
Int. 578 makes several important improvements to that process. The legislation establishes preservation and growth of industrial and manufacturing activity and employment as the mission of the IBZ Boundary Commission. It broadens representation on the Commission and it requires a two-thirds vote to amend or repeal an existing IBZ, while retaining a majority vote for the creation of a new zone. It strengthens transparency and conflict-of-interest provisions. And it provides a clearer framework for evaluating proposed boundary changes by explicitly considering existing industrial uses, the number of industrial and manufacturing businesses and workers in the area, the potential for future industrial development, residential zoning, freight and traffic patterns, and the relationship to other economic development zones.
These are all welcome changes to help ensure IBZs continue to play the crucial role they do in supporting the preservation and growth of industrial businesses. Int. No. 578 does not freeze Industrial Business Zones in place. It creates a higher standard for removing existing protections, requires relevant economic evidence to be considered, broadens participation in the decision-making process, and makes that process more transparent to the public. We support this legislation and urge the Council to pass Int. 578.
We are excited to work with the Committee in protecting commercial and industrial tenants across the city and creating a strong small business ecosystem that serves all New Yorkers. Thank you again for the opportunity to submit testimony. If you have any questions or for more information, please contact Gina Lee at gina.l@anhd.org.