"What's Needed to Bolster NYC's Mom-and-Pop Small Businesses"
A Center for an Urban Future Policy Symposium

Thursday, May 28, 2026
8:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. 
Thursday, May 28th, 2026
150W17TH (formerly The Rubin Museum)
150 West 17th Street

To attend in-person, RSVP via this link.
To watch the livestream, RSVP via this link. 

Confirmed speakers include:

• Vic Lee, Co-Founder & CEO, Welcome to Chinatown 
• Randy Peers, President & CEO, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
• Justin Rodgers, President & CEO, Greater Jamaica Development Corporation
• Pedro Suarez, Executive Director, Third Avenue Business Improvement District
• Jessica Walker, President & CEO, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce

For much of the past decade, New York City has experienced a remarkable boom in new business creation, with small businesses sparking job growth and bolstering communities from the northeast Bronx and Harlem to Flushing and Bed-Stuy. But today, a growing number of the city’s neighborhood-based small businesses are struggling. Business closures across the city have outpaced openings in three of the last five quarters, with mom-and-pops squeezed by surging insurance and utility bills, higher prices for materials and supplies, persistent rent pressures, and the mounting burden of navigating permits, regulations, and fees.

This in-person policy forum will examine what’s needed to strengthen New York City’s mom-and-pop businesses at a pivotal moment for the city’s local entrepreneurs. It will discuss the most pressing challenges facing neighborhood businesses, identify what’s driving them, and advance specific ideas for how city leaders can reduce burdens, strengthen the city’s small business support ecosystem, and bolster this vital part of New York's economy.

Details
Thursday, May, 28, 2026
8:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. (doors open at 8; program begins at 8:45)
@ 150W17TH (formerly The Rubin Museum)
150 West 17th Street

To attend in-person, please RSVP via this link. 
To watch the livestream, please RSVP via this link. 

We are committed to providing access and reasonable accommodations in our programs. For questions or requests regarding access and accommodation, please contact Sophia Tumolo ([email protected]) at least 72 hours in advance of the program.

This event is made possible thanks to generous support from Wells Fargo. General operating support for the Center for an Urban Future is provided by The Clark Foundation and The Altman Foundation. CUF also receives ongoing support from several other philanthropic funders.