Rep. Maloney tours Long Island City small-business incubator

Queens, NY – This morning, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney toured “The Entrepreneur’s Space,” a business incubator in Long Island City sponsored by the City of New York.  The tour was organized by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who in 2009 launched The Entrepreneur’s Space and 8 other business incubators citywide.  Altogether, the city’s 9 incubators host more than 500 start-up businesses and more than 800 jobs, and have raised $39 million in private capital.  Joining Bloomberg and Maloney on the tour were New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, Queens Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Seth Bornstein, and many others.
“Economists like to talk about “green shoots,” or the signs that our economy is recovering from a downturn, as Mother Nature herself springs back after a long winter.  Well, many of the green shoots that will revitalize our economy are being nurtured in the business incubator right here in Long Island City.  The Entrepreneur’s Space and the eight other incubators like it in New York host more than 500 start-up businesses and more than 800 jobs,” Maloney said.

“Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, employing just over half of our country’s private-sector workforce.  In New York, as in the rest of America, the vast majority of employers have less than 500 employees.

“A business incubator gives businesses a helping hand so that a great proposal can become a profitable operation.  This incubator provides commercial kitchen space so that entrepreneurs can prepare food in a facility that meets all Department of Health and licensing requirements -- saving new businesses from having to go out and create appropriate cooking space themselves, which would be a significant investment.

“It requires an enormous amount of courage and determination to take an idea for a business and make it real – so I salute the entrepreneurs who are taking advantage of the city’s business incubators.  You’re truly what America is all about, and I believe that one of the most important things we in government can do is to support small businesses.

“I agree wholeheartedly with President Obama that Congress needs to get moving to support job creation: we need to reauthorize the cut in payroll taxes we approved in the last Congress, which will give families an extra $1,000 per year, on average, so they can support businesses like those being created here at the Entrepreneur’s Space; and we need to continue to invest in our infrastructure, especially in projects to expand our transportation system, which provide good-paying jobs during construction and a boost to our economic competitiveness down the road.

“Finally, I’d like to commend Mayor Bloomberg on the success of New York’s business incubators.  The Mayor deserves the thanks of a grateful city for this extraordinary program – the small businesses taking root here are truly the future of New York.  This kind of innovation is one of the reasons New York is doing better than the national average and is better prepared for tough economic times,” Maloney added.