Between high rents, inflation, and an often unyielding bureaucracy, the city’s ecosystem of small businesses could use some help. These factors hollow out beloved commercial thoroughfares as businesses can no longer afford to stay open.

We see this every day in Greenpoint, where places such as The Wild, Pencil Factory, and GreenPot have been forced to shutter, leaving a hole in the community.

Earlier this month, Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed Delia Awusi as the city’s first “mom-and-pop” czar, who will report to Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su.

The role, touted by Mamdani on the campaign trail, “is designed to help reduce the runaround small businesses often face across permits, inspections, fines, and other city processes.”

As the owner of Gigi’s, a new restaurant that recently caused a minor scandal over the price of its roast chicken, told the New York Times, “If I didn’t have to wait two and a half years to open, maybe I could sell a chicken for $38.”

Awusi previously served as the director of BOC Network’s Women’s Business Center.

The issue hits close to home, as two of the area’s elected officials recently introduced pertinent legislation. State Assemblymember Emily Gallagher and State Senator Julia Salazar proposed a bill that would enact small business commercial rent stabilization, creating a system similar to that for residential tenants. The Commercial Rent Guidelines Board would set maximum rent increases and help to guarantee leases.

For more help at the local level, the North Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce will host a Small Business Expo on April 28 to provide resources and networking opportunities. The event is free. You can find out more and RSVP here.