A new live music venue in Brooklyn that was forced to delay its grand opening in November due to the surge in the Omicron variant has finally opened its doors thanks to some much-needed help.

Patrick Watson, the owner of the Atlantic Brooklyn, a venue that hosts a variety of live musicians, opened a few weeks ago after struggling to get the green light to open.

Watson says COVID delayed the process of getting the necessary inspections to open because city agencies were stretched thin. He says thanks to the help of the Department of Small Business Services, the process was able to be expedited.

"They were able to at least really connect with those city departments that we needed to connect with in order to move our applications along, get the inspections we needed to get done," says Watson. "But without the Department of Small Business Services' help, like I said we'd still be waiting."

SBS Commissioner Kevin D. Kim says the department offers small businesses a number of free services, ranging from finding loans and grants to sending compliance advisors to the owners.