STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (Nov. 9, 2010) — Frustrated by years of fruitless waiting, members of Staten Island’s financially overburdened small-business community will be taking to the streets. Business owners are hoping to convince city, state and federal policymakers to provide the much-needed regulatory changes they need in order to survive.       

Small businesses are buried under taxes, massive regulations, and more, say rally organizers.

The “Stop Suffocating Small Business!” rally, organized by the BUCKS Business Network group and members of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, is expected to draw hundreds of local business owners dealing with cumbersome government-inspired expenses, as well as consumers plagued by the resulting rise in prices, said Bob Cutrona, a member of both organizations and president of Island-based Project-One Services Inc.

RALLY OPEN TO ALL

The event will take place on Nov. 17, beginning at 7:30 a.m., in the parking lot of the vacated Circuit City store at 2505 Richmond Ave., New Springville. The public is encouraged to attend.

 “The objective is to get the message out that small businesses can no longer absorb the various taxes, heightened registration fees, increased penalties, expanded rules, regulations and reporting requirements,” Cutrona said.

Businesses throughout New York “are being squeezed to a point where many are fighting for survival, and others are moving to other business-friendly states like New Jersey,” Cutrona said.

JOBS BECOMING SCARCE

It’s often said that small businesses in New York comprise an economic engine that creates new jobs. But such jobs become scarce, if not extinct, when businesses become strapped due to overzealous government levies.

“This isn’t about increasing our profits, or about greed on the part of business people,” Cutrona explained. “This is about doing what is right for our businesses and, in turn, our clients, our employees, our community and the economy in general.”

There is an economic “trickle-down effect” influencing current conditions, Cutrona added. “When the small businesses suffer, so do employees because of layoffs, consumers because of higher prices, and ultimately the overall economy.”

For more information about the rally, Cutrona may be reached at 718-761-8390.

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