SBA Offers Assistance
For August Storm Damage
New York and Vermont businesses and residents affected by severe storms and flooding on August 24, can now apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Administrator Jovita Carranza made the loans available in response to a letter from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on November 4, requesting a disaster declaration by the SBA. The declaration covers Rensselaer and Washington Counties and the adjacent Bennington County in Vermont.
“The SBA is strongly committed to providing the people of New York with the most effective and customer focused response possible to assist businesses of all sizes, homeowners and renters with federal disaster loans,” said Carranza. “Getting businesses and communities up and running after a disaster is our highest priority at SBA.”
In accordance with health precautions for COVID-19, the SBA will not establish a field presence to assist survivors. However, the SBA will continue to provide customer service and conduct outreach virtually with webinars, skype calls, phone assistance and step-by-step application assistance. The SBA has opened a Virtual Disaster Loan Outreach Center to help survivors apply online using the Electronic Loan Application via the SBA’s secure website at DisasterLoan.sba.gov. Virtual customer support representatives are available to help applicants complete the online application during these hours:
Virtual Disaster Loan Outreach Center (VDLOC)
Open: Daily Hours: 8 am to 8 pm.
Email: FOCE-Help@sba.gov
Phone: 800-659-2955
These services are only available for the New York disaster declaration #16772 as a result of severe storms and flooding on August 24, and not for COVID-19 related assistance.