Kathy Donadio’s decade-old business, Heritage Limousines, West
Brighton, was greatly affected in the aftermath of the World Trade
Center disaster. Seventy percent of its business consisted of
airport and casino travel services, which came to a complete halt at
the height of their season, she explained. Business was reduced to
only previously reserved wedding services.
But with the help of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at
the College of Staten Island, Ms. Donadio was able to secure a Small
Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan for $175,000 for a term
of 20 years at 4 percent interest. No interest or payments were
required for the two years, and interest does not accrue during that
time.
“They were really a big help,” she said of the SBDC, adding that she
had often consulted with counselors even before Sept.11.
For its efforts on behalf of Island business, the SBDC has captured
first place in the ranking of the state’s 23 business centers for
the period from Oct. 1, 2001, through Sept. 30.
The Island’s SBDC, headed by Martin Schwartz, director, was lauded
for outstanding performance in counseling 450 clients in the past
year, helping them obtain over $20 million in financing for 79
businesses.
The center helped to create 92 jobs, and saved 485 jobs. More than
800 clients were served, 72 percent of whom evaluated the Island’s
free SBDC services as “excellent.”
Of all the state’s SBDCs, the Island unit has the smallest staff and
one of the smallest budgets to work with, according to Mike Ross, a
spokesman for the Albany-based SBDC, which oversees the state’s
SBDCs.
The Island SBDC has four employees; Schwartz, director; John Blohm
and Robert Stein, business advisors, and RoseMary Sleap,
administrative assistant.
Ranking second in the state was the SBDC at Pace University,
Manhattan.
The state’s 23 regional not-for-profit SBDCs are in a partnership
with the U.S. Small Business Administration, State University of New
York, City University of New York.
