Bill Text: NY S01040 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Enacts the small business survival act; creates a small business lease program for fair negotiations in the commercial lease renewal process.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 0000-00-00 - [S01040 Detail]
Download: New_York-2015-S01040-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1040--A 2015-2016 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 8, 2015 ___________ Introduced by Sens. AVELLA, PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities -- recom- mitted to the Committee on Cities in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to enacting the "small business survival act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "small business survival act". 3 § 2. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that the small business 4 sector of the city of New York remains vulnerable at a time when New 5 York city is more dependent than ever on small business for job growth 6 and revenues. The New York city commercial rental market has been nega- 7 tively influenced by speculators for such an extended period of time 8 that the interest of small businesses and job creation, and the broader 9 general economic interest of the city, are being harmed. An unacceptable 10 number of established small businesses are being forced out of business 11 solely as a result of the commercial lease renewal process. Whereby a 12 breakdown has taken place in normal processes of bargaining and freedom 13 of contract has become an illusory concept during the commercial lease 14 renewal process. The current commercial rental market results in 15 unjust, unreasonable, and oppressive leases for the payment of rent for 16 commercial space in New York city. Landlords continue to exact such 17 agreements from tenants under stress of prevailing market conditions and 18 unequal bargaining power, without any tenants' rights to allow for 19 bargaining in good faith to arrive at fair and reasonable lease terms. 20 The absence of legal protection for the interests of commercial tenants 21 in the lease renewal process has unnecessarily accelerated the closing 22 of small businesses and resulted in lost jobs, lost tax revenues caused EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01956-02-6
