On Thursday, June 10th The Port Authority of New York/New Jersey hosted a webinar on Doing Business and Navigating Our Ports Nicol Polidoro, Northeast Regional Account Manager, from the Business Development and Industry Relations division, presented about the strong resilience of this gateway through these unprecedent times. Members were able to get a glimpse of 6 Marine terminals and other Maritime services this Port provides such as 3 Auto processors → 2 Cruise terminals → Various bulk and breakbulk cargo including scrap metal, Belgian block, edible oils, orange juice and cement → Project cargo and heavy lift capabilities → NYNJ Rail (Cross-Harbor carfloat operation) → warehousing and distribution.

The GNYCC hosted their 18th Annual World Trade Week Reception on May 27th 2021 (both virtually and in person) at Tudor City Steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan. This year's "trusted trading partners" were: the Consul General of Nepal in NY, Bishnu Prasad Gautam; the Consul General of Nigeria in NY, Ambassador Lot. Egopija and the Consul General of Panama in NY, Elias M. Levy. We also continued to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Lucio Caputo, a former Italian Trade Commissioner who was well known for hosting the Italian Wine & Food Festival in NYC. This year, the annual "Dr. Lucio Caputo International Statesman Award" was presented to Raffaele Ruggeri of Bice Restaurant Group. The Group has restaurants world wide; including NYC and Milan. A special "International Tourism Award" was also presented to Markly Wilson of the Empire State Development International Tourism Program. The final award of the evening was presented presented to the Caribbean America Chamber of Commerce & Industry in the name of Dr. Roy Hastick, the founder and past CEO of that Chamber who was instrumental in creating the Caribbean Trade Center now located in Brooklyn NY.

The GNYCC celebrated Small Business Week with a tribute to essential workers. This webinar featured a “Live Chat” Intros of Small Business Champions saluting Republic Bank and Staples & featuring the 1st Annual Dr. Roy Hastick Small Business Champions award to GoldenKrust and MCG Cafe.

Erin Dinan, from One Sandwich at a Time was recognized for their dedicated to providing sandwiches during the pandemic to food pantries. Debbie Imperia from the Harrison Children's Center was also recognized for never closing during the pandemic so the essential workers can go to work while their kids were in school. Linda Bulone, RN, OCN,CCRC was given an award to her and her team along with Maria Santiago from Home Health Aide Training Institute recognizing their dedication and long hours during this health crisis.

Andrew was named a Presidential Ambassador of Entrepreneurship by the White House under the Obama administration and a Champion of Change for his work with Venture for America. Initially dubbed a "longer than long shot" candidate by the New York Times in 2018, Andrew became a

Andrew Yang is an entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, non-profit leader, and former 2020 presidential candidate. Andrew has lived in New York City since 1996, when he moved into his first apartment in Morningside Heights at 21. top-tier contender for the presidency, raising nearly $40 million in grassroots funding.

On March 11, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 created the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund to provide grants for restaurants sustaining financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is administering the program, and will be issuing the necessary federal rules, regulations, and applications before grant funds are distributed.

Restaurant revitalization grants must be used to pay qualifying expenses during the covered period. Any grants not fully utilized in this manner must be returned to the SBA.

Specific expenses that are eligible include:
• Payroll costs
• Mortgage principal & interest payments
• Rent payments (except for prepayments)
• Utilities
• Maintenance costs
• Supplies (including personal protective equipment & cleaning supplies)
• Food & beverage costs
• Covered supplier costs (utilizing the PPP definition)
• Operational expenses
• Paid sick leave

This year the GNYCC was honored to award the following 2021 recipients: Lisa Tuozzolo, Silver Shield Foundation; Shirley Kessel, Miles for Migraine; Patti Kenner, Campus Coach; Elaine Powell, U.S. Small Business Administration; Tanya L. Wilson-Thomas
Gold Star Wife & Employee NYC Dept. of Veteran Services. They were recognized for their outstanding work as great role models for all women to aspire too.

Starting the week of April 6, 2021, the SBA is raising the loan limit for the COVID-19 EIDL program from 6-months of economic injury with a maximum loan amount of $150,000 to up to 24-months of economic injury with a maximum loan amount of $500,000.