DOB to offer guidance to small business and prospective owners at Bronx event
Next Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., members of the department will be at Northeast Bronx YMCA to assist current and prospective owners with violation resolutions and project consultations.
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The Department of Buildings will be coming to the Bronx next week to offer guidance to small business owners and entrepreneurs.
News 12 spoke with members of the department on Friday to learn more about the event's resources and spoke with the owners of a restaurant who say their business could benefit.
"Anyone who owns a one- to four-family home will be able to come in, or a small business will be able to come in to get real time service," said Ophelia Phipps, director of Community Engagement for the Department of Buildings.
Next Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., members of the department will be at Northeast Bronx YMCA to assist current and prospective owners with violation resolutions and project consultations.
Phipps said it will allow them to get firsthand knowledge before leasing a space, knowledge that the owners of Adom Cuisine said they would have benefitted from when they opened their doors during the pandemic.
"We were looking for a long time, since 2014," said owner Ama Acquaah. After years of catering, Ama Acquaah said she and her husband always dreamt of having a physical space.
"The hardest part was getting the good spot to start the business," Ama Acquaah said.
"It took us some time. Even getting this place was a miracle," David Acquaah said.
Acquaah said that may have been easier to achieve had they have known about these city resources.
"That would help a whole lot. Especially for African, Black, minority, small businesses," David Acquaah said.
The department's Scott Pavan said it is not too late for those owners to learn.
"What the opportunities are to either grow their business, alter a space they may already have or open a new business in a new space," he elaborated.
Pavan said next week's event is a chance to ask questions and learn what it takes to open and maintain that space as well.
This city-wide initiative will kick off in the Bronx on June 24. News 12 was told the Department of Buildings will bring similar events to all five boroughs on different dates throughout the summer.
