New York City agencies: supporting business and creating opportunity 

New York is built on hustle and opportunity. At every bus stop you’ll find ambitious young people on their way to job interviews, busy parents dropping off their children for school, and business owners heading to open their shops. At the heart of this energy are New York City’s agencies, working together to support working-class New Yorkers.

New York is a big city of small businesses, approximately 183,000 of them — to ensure their continued success, the Department of Small Business Services is expanding its support through Small Business Forward 2.0, a program designed to cut red tape, promote entrepreneurship, and improve access to financing. Another key initiative is the Small Business Opportunity Fund, which has awarded more than $85 million in capital to over 1,000 small businesses since launching in 2023. Investments like these are why one in five of NYC’s small businesses open today were created in the last three years!

Additionally, the Mayor’s Office of Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE) is helping the city break records, rewarding $23.5 billion in minority- and women-owned business enterprises (M/WBE) contracts in just the last three years. Not only does awarding money to M/WBEs foster an inclusive economy, it strengthens New York City’s communities and supports the economic initiatives and goals of all New Yorkers.

Safe neighborhoods help businesses thrive, and New York City is the safest big city in America, with first responders and city agencies always working to improve safety and quality of life. New York City’s “Community Link” program helps support these citywide objectives by bringing local community and business leaders together to address complex and often chronic community complaints best handled by a coordinated multi-agency response, making our city even safer, cleaner, and more livable.

And supporting businesses means supporting the families who run them, especially when it comes to education, child care, and after school programming. NYC’s $755 million investment in the “After-School for All” program will provide 184,000 of New York City’s K-8 students a place to study sports, robotics, the arts, field trips, and more — while ensuring that parents won’t have to choose between picking up their child or working to put food on the table.

All of this is paying off, as NYC has surpassed its all-time high jobs record 12 times since 2022, and now boasts 4.9 million total jobs, further delivering on New York City’s mission to be the best place to advance a career, raise a family, and build a business. Over 300,000 of your neighbors are behind these efforts, working for city agencies, and their passion, dedication, and collaboration, every day and everywhere, make the city safer and more affordable. For more information about your city agencies and what they can do for you, visit deliveringforyou.nyc.