New York City Considers Support for Employee Ownership

Letitia James, the public advocate for New York City, has proposed that the city both provide education for business owners about employee ownership and facilitate financing for employee ownership transactions. In a policy brief, she writes:

New York State loses approximately 60,500 jobs a year when small businesses with fewer than 100 employees close their doors for good. While many businesses close because of rising rents or failed business plans, in New York State we estimate that 3,700 businesses close each year simply because of the owner's retirement. As a result 13,260 New Yorkers lose their jobs annually. New York City could avoid some of these job losses through a little-known but proven strategy to retain jobs and build assets for workers: transitioning to employee ownership.