BABYLON, NY – Town of Babylon Councilman and Small Business Committee Chairman Anthony Manetta, in conjunction with the Town of Babylon Chamber of Commerce Collaborative and Town of Babylon Industrial Development Agency (IDA), recently hosted the second annual Access to Capital event for business owners and residents. The event, held at the Town of Babylon Old Town Hall, educated attendees on available incentives and funding and grant opportunities and provided networking opportunities with fellow business owners and local chambers of commerce.
“The Town of Babylon is steadfast in our support for our small businesses,” said Councilman Manetta. “As a councilman, I have the incredible opportunity to spend a great deal of my time helping small businesses and work closely with our chambers of commerce. Events like this provide the tools and resources for our small businesses to grow locally.”
The event began with a panel featuring CEO of the Babylon IDA Tom Dolan, Vice President and Regional Director of Long Island Empire State Development Cara Longworth and New York Deputy District Director of the United States Small Business Administration John Mallano. Councilman Manetta moderated as the panelists fielded questions from the wide range of business owners and residents in attendance.
The Town of Babylon has launched several other recent programs and events as part of their initiative to support local small businesses. This includes the Chamber of Commerce Collaborative, also led by Councilman Manetta. The collaborative brings together the Town of Babylon’s chambers to hold joint events and programming to enhance small business growth and networking opportunities. Another part of this Town initiative is the Direct Support Program, which distributed 267 grants from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to help small businesses, nonprofit organizations and veterans groups economically recover from the pandemic and experience post-pandemic growth.
“We provided millions of dollars in grant money to help the small businesses and nonprofits affected by the COVID pandemic,” said Councilman Manetta at the Access to Capital event. “It was our goal to ensure the ARPA funds we received were distributed to our biggest job creators—our small businesses—who deeply support our residents and drive the local economy.”
To watch the event, please click here.
Photo (Left to Right): Cara Longworth, VP, Regional Director, Long Island Empire State Development, John Mallano, Deputy District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration, Councilman Anthony Manetta and Tom Dolan, CEO of the Babylon IDA.