Has press conference at Castle arcade
It was easy to be distracted at Colin Schmitt’s March 1 press conference at The Castle in Chester. As the Assemblyman and his guest speakers approached the podium, a variety of pictures flashed on the screens of the arcade games.
But Mr. Schmitt didn’t choose The Castle for its ambience. The owner’s experience helped tell a story.
Brian Leentjes said his amusement center is due to reopen on the 26th, but it’s been closed for a year and most of his 120 employees have been out of work.
The Castle is one of the larger employers in the area.
And its mandated closure has hurt the community. Mr. Leentjes would have liked his business to have been treated the same as the nearby supermarkets.
Assemblyman Schmitt maintains that the state and federal government didn’t do enough to help small businesses. A good example is the Twins Eating House in Cornwall. Frank Frasca bought the business during the pandemic. He said he was well into the negotiations when COVID-19 hit the county.
Because he couldn’t point to previous sales, Mr. Frasca couldn’t demonstrate that his business was hurt by the pandemic. And as a result, he was limited in his ability to get aid.
But Mr. Frasca followed the same guidelines as the longtime restaurant owners and made sure that half of his tables remained empty. Other speakers at the conference cited increased prices for materials, the high cost of obtaining protective equipment and the challenge of hiring people who were getting large unemployment checks.
Mr. Schmitt promised to urge the state government to use $1.5 billion in state settlement fees to establish a Small Business Emergency Assistance Fund. The Assemblyman said this money has been set aside for a rainy day. And the current crisis fits that description.
The Assemblyman is co-sponsoring a bill that was introduced by George Borrello in the Senate. The proposed legislation would:
• Exempt small businesses from being penalized with higher unemployment insurance rates due to layoffs resulting from COVID-related, government-mandated closures. The exemption would extend for a period of one year from when they are permitted to return to full capacity;
• Prohibit Internet-based food delivery services from charging higher fees than they charged on or before March 1, 2020;
• Give small businesses additional time to pay monthly sales and payroll taxes, as well as, business and property taxes;
• Offer interest-free loans or lines of credit to small businesses;
• Provide a one-year extension for renewal of liquor licenses; and
• Offer businesses a 90-day grace period to pay any fees or penalties due to state and local agencies.
In addition to the Assembly-man, seven business owners or local officials stepped up to the podium. They were not bothered by the array of electronic games behind them.
