News

The attached release was issued to the news media earlier today.

ATLANTA - The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has put more than $160 million in financial assistance into the hands of residents of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to help them recover from the damages caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. As of Oct. 13, the SBA had approved 3,319 loans for a total of $160,671,100.

“Hurricane Ida cut a wide swath of damage, and SBA’s mission-driven team is working hard to help affected small businesses and residents with their recoveries,” said Kem Fleming, Director of the SBA’s Field Operations Center East. “We’re committed to providing federal disaster loans swiftly and efficiently, with a customer-centric approach to help businesses and communities recover and rebuild.”

Businesses, homeowners, renters and private nonprofit organizations in 28 primary counties in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are eligible to apply for physical disaster loans from the SBA. Those include the New York counties of Bronx, Kings, Nassau, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester; the New Jersey counties of Bergen, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Union and Warren; and the Pennsylvania counties of Bedford, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, and York.

Small businesses and most private nonprofit organizations in counties adjacent to the primary counties are eligible to apply only for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

To be considered for all forms of disaster assistance, applicants should register online at DisasterAssistance.gov or download the FEMA mobile app. If online or mobile access is unavailable, applicants should call the FEMA toll-free helpline at 800-621-3362. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services should call 800-621-3362.

Businesses and individuals should then complete and return an SBA disaster loan application by visiting DisasterLoanAssistance.sba.gov. They can also obtain individual assistance at one of the recovery centers established in all three states. Locations and hours can be obtained here: NY Ida Recovery Centers NJ Ida Recovery Centers PA Ida Recovery Centers

Businesses and individuals can ask questions, obtain loan applications or other information by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or emailing DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov. Loan applications can also be downloaded at sba.gov/disaster. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155. ###

Please call the press contact with any questions. Carl Dombek, Public Affairs Specialist Office of Disaster Assistance - Field Operations Center East U.S. Small Business Administration Press contact: (404) 331-0333