Encouraging and Supporting Low-Income Entrepreneurship in Manhattan

*If you have trouble accessing the replay of the event, please contact Stephanie at sarevalo@nycfuture.org.

With Manhattan experiencing an official unemployment rate of 11 percent and few new job openings on the horizon, entrepreneurship and self-employment could become an increasingly important pathway for low-income New Yorkers to earn income and provide for their families during the long road to economic recovery. But while neighborhoods from Washington Heights and Harlem to the Lower East Side have no shortage of highly creative and entrepreneurial residents, many New Yorkers from lower-income communities don’t see business formation or self-employment as a viable path, even in better economic times—and many who do aspire to start a business are stymied by the numerous obstacles along the way.

The third in CUF's five-borough forum series on encouraging and supporting low-income entrepreneurship, this event explored whether low-income entrepreneurship should be among the strategies city policymakers pursue to help those hardest hit by the pandemic boost incomes and generate wealth. It discussed what’s needed to support first-time entrepreneurs from low-income communities in Manhattan, and examined how to ensure that more of the New Yorkers from low-income backgrounds who do turn to entrepreneurship have the tools and resources to succeed. Our forum featured a panel of Manhattan-based entrepreneurs from lower-income backgrounds in conversation with local and national entrepreneurship experts and city officials.

Speakers included:

• Gale Brewer, Manhattan Borough President
• Adriano Espaillat, Congressman, United States House of Representatives
• Ydanis Rodriguez, Council Member, NYC Council
• Karen Bornarth, Head of Workforce Development, Hot Bread Kitchen
• Shanna Castillo, Director, Office of Resident Economic Empowerment & Sustainability, New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)
• Jennifer DaSilva, Executive Director, Start Small Think Big
• Ralph Jardine, U.S. Head of Inclusion & Culture, HSBC Bank USA
• Gina Ramcharan, Program Director, The Lillian Project, Harlem Business Alliance
• Kaaryn Marie Nailor Simmons, Director, Columbia-Harlem Small Business Development Center
• Diane Tinsley, Founder, Kids Dance Revolution

This symposium is made possible through generous support from HSBC. We are also grateful for general support from The Clark Foundation and the Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation, and ongoing support from a number of other philanthropic funders.