SBA Offers Disaster Assistance to New York Residents Affected By Severe Storms and Flooding

New York residents and businesses affected by severe storms and flooding that occurred from July 6 - 7, 2009, can apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills announced today.

Administrator Mills made the loans available in response to a letter from Gov. David A. Paterson dated September 8, 2009, requesting a disaster declaration by the SBA. The declaration covers Westchester County and the adjacent counties of Bronx, Orange, Putnam and Rockland in New York; Fairfield County in Connecticut; and Bergen County in New Jersey.

"The SBA is strongly committed to providing the people of New York with the most effective and customer-focused response possible to assist homeowners, renters, and businesses of all sizes with federal disaster loans," said Administrator Mills. "Getting our businesses and communities up and running after a disaster is our highest priority at SBA."

"Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property," said Frank Skaggs, Director of SBA's Disaster Field Operations Center in Atlanta. SBA's customer service representatives will be on hand at the Disaster Loan Outreach Center to issue loan applications, answer questions about the SBA's disaster loan program, explain the application process and help individuals complete their applications.

The Center will be located in the following community and will open as indicated:

Westchester County
Yonkers Public Library
Grinton I. Will Branch
1500 Central Park Avenue
Yonkers, New York 10710
Opens:    Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Hours:    9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday October 14 and Thursday, October 15
          10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, October 16
          9 a.m. to 12 Noon, Saturday, October 17
          Closing: Saturday, October 17, 2009, at the close of business

"Businesses and non-profit organizations of any size may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets," said Pravina Raghavan, SBA's New York District Director.

The SBA also provides mitigation funds to disaster victims up to 20 percent of the verified physical damage. These funds are designed to help borrowers pay for protective measures to minimize damages of the same kind in the future.

For small businesses and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. EIDL assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.

Interest rates are as low as 2.437 percent for homeowners and renters, and 4 percent for businesses, with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant's financial condition.

Individuals and businesses unable to visit the Center in person may obtain information and loan applications by calling the SBA's Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the hearing impaired), Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EDT, or sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Business loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Completed applications should be returned to the Center or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 4925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

Victims may apply for disaster loans from SBA's secure Web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is December 1, 2009. The deadline to return economic injury applications is July 2, 2010.

For more information about the SBA's Disaster Loan Programs, visit our Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.

Release Number: 10-019 11891/11892

SOURCE: U.S. Small Business Administration

U.S. Small Business Administration 
Michael Lampton, 404-331-0333

Related terms: business, connecticut, email, federal, interest rates, machinery, new york, profit, property, real estate, small business, texas, web