Federal officials who met Friday with business owners struggling after the Baltimore bridge collapse approved $3.4 million worth of emergency loans and say they are processing 1,000 more applications. Stated.
Just over three weeks after a Dali freighter strike destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge, killed six construction workers, and closed the Port of Baltimore to shipping, the U.S. Small Business Administration has filed 59 charges. has approved low-interest Economic Injury Disaster Loans, Dilawar said. Mr. Syed, the SBA's deputy administrator, is in Baltimore.
The 30-year loan is designed to help businesses overcome temporary revenue losses and has been approved for restaurants, logistics companies, trucking companies and more.
Syed and other SBA officials visited the Business Recovery Center on South Clinton Street in Canton. The center is one of three that have opened in Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties since the bridge disaster. In addition to applying for federal loans, these centers also provide grants and other assistance offered by state and local governments.
Syed said the SBA has seen strong demand for loans, with $500,000 of the $3.4 million approved since Thursday, and the number of approvals is expected to increase in the coming weeks. He also said he is working with Maryland officials to consider additional federal aid and that officials are working to fill gaps for those who don't qualify or can't afford the additional loan payments. said.
“Those who haven't been able to get through this process…we are now talking to these business owners, looking at their financial situation and making sure they qualify in a way that we can help them. We can see if we can do it,” he said. “We intend to stay here as long as necessary to help as many small businesses as we can.”
Said said the closure of the port resulted in a monthly business loss of $28 million. Gov. Wes Moore said about 8,000 workers are affected by the closure each day, including terminal rail and tug drivers, pilots, longshoremen and truck drivers.
Y. Maria Martinez, special secretary for small business in the governor's office, said the state Department of Labor will provide assistance to independent contractors, small businesses with only a few employees, and other businesses that may not qualify for unemployment insurance. He said he has started offering grants. , on friday. The department's Baltimore Port Worker Retention Program is offering grants of up to $200,000 to eligible businesses to avoid employee layoffs as part of a $12.5 million authorization.
And starting at 9 a.m. Monday, the state Department of Commerce will award grants of up to $100,000 through the Port of Baltimore Emergency Operations Fund. To qualify, companies must prove they have faced lost revenue or activity or increased costs due to port disruptions and pledge to remain at the ports once they reopen.
“Everything happened so quickly that we're trying to make sure we can provide wraparound service,” Martinez said.
She said the three business recovery centers “have all kinds of support, mental health, unemployment, insurance, all of those things. … As things progress, your needs will change.”
Martinez and Chris Lundy, Mayor Brandon Scott's director of small business advocacy and development, approved the federal loan Friday as part of an effort to determine whether the SBA and other programs meet needs. Said participated in a hearing session with several business owners. Number of people facing revenue loss.
“This is a long-term initiative, not something that will end in a month or two,” Said said.
Government support has been stepped up, but for some people it's not coming fast enough.
Frederick Mensah, independent owner of Shira Transportation, is one of hundreds of truck drivers who transport containers and other cargo in and out of ports, many of whom are not eligible for unemployment. , cannot afford even low-interest loans. .
Mensah, who went to Canton's Business Recovery Center on Friday looking for answers, said he hasn't received a paycheck since the bridge fell. On the other hand, business costs have increased, such as renting truck chassis and storing cargo that was scheduled to be taken to the port but could not be delivered.
“I would say over 95 percent of our business is gone,” Mensah said. “There's no work here because the bridge fell down.”
