Queens Chamber, Meng Announce New Small Business Legal Desk – Queens Gazette

On August 17, the Queens Chamber of Commerce and US Congresswoman Grace Meng announced the opening of the Small Business Legal Desk at Queens College’s Small Business Development Center. The program, funded by a $1 million appropri­ation from Meng, will link the district’s diverse small business community to services in Mandarin, Korean, Bengali, Russian and Spanish. Representatives from several organizations attended the ceremony, including the Flushing Business Improvement District, the Bayside Business Improvement District, Queens Together, the Chinese Business Association of New York, the Sino-American Commerce Association, the Fuzhou Association, the Zhe Jiang Wenzhou Association of Industry and Commerce, the Henan Association, and the Chinese Wenchow Association. Photo Andy Poon

On August 17, at Queens College’s Small Business De­velopment Center, the Queens Chamber of Commerce, Queens’ oldest and largest business association, and United States Congresswoman Grace Meng (NY-6, Queens) an­nounced the opening of the Small Business Legal Desk, a program that will connect small businesses in Meng’s dis­trict to consultants with expertise in human resources, fi­nance and accounting and legal issues such as contracts and leases. The program, funded by a $1 million appropriation from Meng, will link the district’s diverse small business community to services in Mandarin, Korean, Bengali, Russ­ian and Spanish.

“Small businesses are the backbone of the economy in Queens, and as the daughter of small business owners in the borough, I know first-hand the important role they play in our communities,” said Congresswoman Meng. “We must do all we can to help small businesses thrive, especially as many continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and this latest round of funding that I secured will go a long way towards providing crucial resources needed by our local entrepreneurs. From finance to legal issues, the Small Busi­ness Legal Desk will be a great asset to small businesses and our workforce, and that includes the diverse small business community that I represent. I’m always proud to keep up the fight for our small businesses and I thank the Queens Chamber of Commerce for spearheading this critical pro­gram.”

Congresswoman Grace Meng, Queens Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Grech, and Queens College President Frank Wu. Photo Andy Poon

“Queens has a vibrant, diverse small business community that creates jobs and opportunity, and contributes so much to the unique character of our neighborhoods,” said Tom Grech, President and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Com­merce. “We are thankful to our Congresswoman Grace Meng for the opportunity to connect small businesses in her district to vital services that will allow them to grow and better serve their customers and community. Congress­woman Meng has been a fierce advocate for Queens’ busi­nesses, and we are grateful for her leadership.”

Through the Small Business Legal Desk, participating businesses will be connected to multilingual, pro-bono pro­fessional support through one-on-one consultations. The program will also host webinars on a monthly basis, and refer businesses to other resources available through the Chamber.

“We were delighted to serve as a site for today’s press conference about news that’s important not only for the Queens Chamber of Commerce, but also for everyone who lives or works in Queens, because the business community is the lifeblood of our borough,” said Queens College Pres­ident Frank H. Wu. “In recent years, Congresswoman Meng has allocated funding for our multilingual Small Business Development Center; our Wastewater Epidemiology Train­ing Laboratory, or WETLAB; the renovation of Colden Au­ditorium; and a program that helps the Queens College Business School build partnerships with local small busi­nesses. Her support has helped our students and faculty thrive in the post-pandemic era. Thank you, Congress­woman Meng, for everything you do for Queens College and our borough.”

“We are proud of the continued success of the Small Business Development Center,” said Kenneth Adams, Pres­ident of LaGuardia Community College. “Since we launched the satellite office at Queens College in 2019, the center has served thousands of immigrant entrepreneurs and other small business owners from Queens.”

Representatives from several organizations attended the ceremony, including the Flushing Business Improvement District, the Bayside Business Improvement District, Queens Together, the Chinese Business Association of New York, the Sino-American Commerce Association, the Fuzhou Association, the Zhe Jiang Wenzhou Association of Industry and Commerce, the Henan Association and the Chinese Wenchow Association.

Interested businesses are encouraged to contact Suzan King at the Queens Chamber of Commerce at sking@queenschamber.org.