Levine to Introduce New Legislation That Protects Small Businesses from Eviction

City Councilman Mark Levine (D-Manhattan Valley, Manhattanville) will be presenting a new piece of legislation to the Council that provides commercial tenants with the same protections from eviction as residential ones.

The measure is modeled after Levine’s “Right to Counsel” bill, signed into law by Mayor Bill de Blasio in the summer of 2017. That bill ensured that anyone threatened with eviction in housing court is entitled to free legal representation, provided they earn twice the federal poverty level or less. Levine, however, wants to extend those protections to small businesses.

“Our neighborhoods are hemorrhaging mom and pop stores at an increasingly alarming rate,” said Levine. “These stores are the fabric and soul of our communities. With the rate of small business evictions rising for the third year in a row, we need to address this issue before the storefront vacancy crisis gets any worse. We’ve seen what happens when we give residential tenants an attorney in an eviction proceeding–they win. It’s time to extend that right to struggling small business owners. No merchant should have to face a legal battle with their landlord without the benefit of an attorney.”

Since it was announced, the bill has garnered support from several other members of the Council. City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal (D-Upper West Side, Central Park, Lincoln Square) said that the legislation will be particularly beneficial to the UWS, where small business evictions are distressingly commonplace.

“On the Upper West Side, we have seen a number of small businesses close, and our community has really felt this loss,” said Rosenthal. “I am proud to be a co-sponsor of Council Member Levine’s legislation guaranteeing commercial tenants an attorney in eviction proceedings. At the very least it offers commercial tenants a fighting chance to continue their lease arrangements, and for businesses to stay in their local communities.”

City Councilwoman Diana Ayala (D-East Harlem, Mott Haven) said that the legislation will be extremely beneficial to the city as a whole, since a thriving small business scene is a vital part of the city’s ecosystem.

“I am proud to join my colleagues in co-sponsoring legislation that will guarantee legal representation for small businesses facing eviction,” said Ayala. “Small businesses contribute to our city’s vibrancy, diversity, and economic growth — and they must be equipped with the resources necessary to fight the shady tactics that are driving commercial evictions.”

However, not everyone is quite as enthused. Kirsten Theodos, a representative from the pro-small business advocacy group Take Back NYC, said that the bill, while a step in the right direction, fails to address the root of the problem.

Our aim, she said, should be to protect commercial tenants from facing eviction at all – hence her tireless efforts to support the Small Business Jobs Survival Act (SBJSA), a bill that would provide commercial tenants with a minimum 10-year lease and let them demand arbitration in the event of an unfair rent hike.

“It’s a good thing that commercial tenants receive legal representation to avoid eviction, but this bill is not a supplement to the Small Business Jobs Survival Act, since the SBJSA stops the closings and prevents evictions,” said Theodos. “CM Levine’s bill provides legal representation after the commercial tenant is already facing eviction.”