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Home My WebLink AboutM-88-0466t , T _ 11HERTY CITY MIAMI-FADE MERCHANT ASSOC6 6040 ROAtHWESt ltH AVENUE record in connection with MIAMI, FLORIDA 33121 itaM491-Y ._,_ on -- ,� Mt► tii',S AND CITIZEN'S COMMUNITY CONCERNS city Clerk AND PROPOSAL SOLUTIONS TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR SUAREZ AND COMMISSIONERS The Model City Small Business Development Pilot Program initiated by this commissison by means of a resolution dated September 28. 1987, in an affront to the community of Miami. These funds, which came about or was promised to us during election time, emphasized a more flexible loan eligibility requirement, the speedy processing of loan applications and a technical assistance program to enhance the development of participating businesses. To date, this program has not been managed properly because of ill--concieved time limits that were impossible to implement. The various committees that were responsible for implementation met haphazardly or not at all. The beauracratic red tape that was supppose to be eliminated bogged down the screening of applicants. The businesses that were approved had to wait up to three months for funds to be disbursed after approval and of the applicants that made a request, only 19 businesses were approved. Is it politically advantageous to you to ignore this miscarriage of justice? Was this feeble attempt only a stop gap method used to got votes and to quell opposition`! How important is the Liberty City area to you'? We need not discuss how economically disadvantaged this area is. We know al-1 too,well what the statistics indicate. l:or decades the Miami economical lending institutions have red lined this area. 'Then, the City of Miami comes up with a proposal that could lend economic dignity to this distressed area and because of lack of concern or committment, this program is not successful. What is the problem? Thu Problom is that the City of for all its citizens at heart. our citizens is lacking. Is it Miami does not have the concern The true representation of all politically advantageous to leave i "ECONOMIC JUSTICE FOR ALL' w 1'ah► this drug i tlfurted crime ridded aVen it! shambles? Does racism play a 1-ule in this scenario! 1'he city leadership would be wise to snake these: economical disadvantaged areas a priority for ecotlumical development through working and aiding the small businesses atld merchatits. Hie City Leadership, educators and business world must know and shuuld knu%% that the better the economical opportunities for a community the better the human, cultural, and social values will be therel,s, removing the need and desire to commit crimes. The drug world economy will not be the biggest source of employment in these poor areas when every man has a chance like most of the people here to work in a dignified atmosphere for himself and his family concerns. We want thi:; city leadership to know that we have the knowledge and the past experience to solve our problems, but because of mint of our experience in oppression and race denial, we have yet to get the opportunity or the community financial assess to davolup au African American Independent business class, unlike the Cubans and many other immigrant groups. NOW that we have presented most of our concerns in this situation, we the merchants would like to propose some of our t►eeds and hope and pray this commission will act in their best God given human wisdom to bring justice to, all the people from this: request a1 We, tile Merchants and Citizens, request and propose to this colllipls;ion to appropriate S5,000,000.00 dollars to the Model City Pilot Loan Program, so that all those businesses that were denied, or declined loans may obtain some financial assistance as the resolution has indicated. b) W request this city Commission to produce a technical assistance manual to keep order between the City and the ,M0rc11all ts. 'I•his will help remove the personal and political manuvering out of the hand of the individual that operates without a public technical guide. c) We request this City Commission to enforce the Model City Pilot Lorin Program resolutions that states loans should be disbursed within fifteen working days, from the time the loan appl icati uu has beets submitted. di He request this City commission to review: all the businesses that were detlied loans so as to improve the poor and. economical disadvantagc buoinesses situation in Miami's poor areas. 1 7 l BBB i 7 r r�i•7p: Pago J r:) We requesL this commission to use the organizatiota score to as.E;i st. the Community Development Department in the additional work load that they conclude will cause businesses to fai.l. if thc,r du not get some additional lie1p, the l.oatls will be very dilfictilt to repay from the way they are presently being disbursed, r) We rcquesL this City Commission to make a business survey in tko .ifrican American Community as to the number of btiritresses that are opening and closing yearly. in quarterly reports. This survey, will enhance business development. g) We request this City Commission to set aside an appropriation of 25"/ of, the city tax dollars from State, Federal and confiscated drug properties budgeted for the African American Community. This 25% of the City tax budget appropriation is the only wav to guarantee that a fair share of the monies will reach this distressed area. We merchants would support a one cent sales tax to over come the city budget problem if the City will joini►v work with the Dade County Government to have a county tide one cent sates tax increase. We challenge this commission to forge alicad with the moral fortitude to deal fairly and justly kith this problem. We the merchant-- and citizens urge you to act expeditiosly on these requests and to approve them. Those that need study and research should receive top priority and committees should be set up to --tudy and research the feasibility of implementing these requests. 'These committees should be required to report to the comn,i5r,ion at the next meeting to discuss their findings. Fellow Commissioners, it is only through mutual consultation and concern that we can give every citizen his due. There should be economic ,justice for ALL. "Thank you. 'rert t i ce 8sheed MIAMI CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT, INC. CITYWIDE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PILOT PROGRAM GUIDELINES o ELIGIBILITY - Businesses must belocated within the City of Miami targeted areas. - Businesses in existence a minimum of one year - Businesses with cash flow problems: (a) To refinance equipment debt (b) To purchase inventory - Purchase of equipment in order to make business viable o PURPOSE OF LOAN Working capital and/or fixed assets or any other business purpose which is acceptable to the Loan Committee o AMOUNT 3 TERM OF LOANS - Minimum $5M; maximum 050M - Working capital loans not to exceed $20M and from three to five year term - Fixed assets loans not to exceed 950M and from five to seven year term; if real estate project up to fifteen years - Business in existence a minimum of one year o INTEREST RATE Fixed; from 3% to 5% depending on business' ability to service debt o REPAYMENT Three to six month moratorium on both Principal b Interest depending on business' ability to service debt o COLLATERAL Business and/or personal assets depending on business' financial position o INSURANCE ~ If not available at reasonable cost, requirement to be waived 140VOA) 88-46G M T <2) TECH141CAL ASSISTANCE Applicant must consent, in order to Obtain 108D, to 3ccePt If applicant does not meel. minimum will L-6 ter i ht� pr oppr t. n c a and wh, f--ji & r ia fljfL�ilto o 4, altatlable ,under DISBURSEMENT OF' FUNDS After Commitment Letter has been accepted by appltj.cant, and all tetn, a. ivid conditions are met, drawdown on loan should not k.6ke` more then Ailt en_ d' ey 0 (2) b TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Applicant must consent, in order to obtain loan, to accept technical assistance. If applicant does not meet minimum _s_creenin_g_criteria it will be referred to the proper technical assistance program and when able to attain screening criteria it may be reconsidered should funds still available under this program. o DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS After Commitment Letter has been accepted by applicant, and all its terms and conditions are met, drawdown on loan should not take more than fifteen days t } J� 4 i U.. �i C c 1, 4?16A 1� ai t THE LIBERTY CITY MIAM14ADE MERCHANT ASSOC. j. 6026O.NORiN11E5T ?iM AVENuE N1AM1, FLORIDA 33117 --' 2: 21 President Prentice F. Rasheed Vice—Prosident Serch Crapp Secretary Marie Sherrer Treasurer Joyce Ford Attorney Legal Mashid Sabir Alvin Coodman CPA —Consultant Cheryl B. Masai Sherrer Sherrer Political Action Dr. Thomas Ferguson Lottie M. Mines Jalil R. Muhammad Econosics-Business Charles Sherrer Prentice F. Rasheed made Williams Vernon Quinn Publicity Bernard Dyer Prentice F. Rasheed Charles Sherrer Edie Simson Lottie N. Mines Aprii 1st, 1988 City of Miami Board of Commission Re: APPEAL DECLINED AND DELAYED LOANS; APPROPRIATION OF ADDITIONAL FUNDS Dear City Clerk: The Liberty City Miami -Jade Merchant Association requests to be heard on the April 14th agenda. The purpose and reference stated above demands your immediate attention. Sincerely, /l rentice F. Rasheed President A 'ECONOMIC JUSTICE FOR ALL' VOL. CCXI NO. 96 THE WALL... ►!ET JOE RN,` a Ims Dora lairs4' . lac. AF R& Rawant • * * RAle Bwttoel Tough Business Mack Entrepreneurs Pace Huge Hurdles in Places Lake Miami Hiia ' IA& Enough Capital, Can't Get Buyers to Pay And Are Often Robbed [-low to Stall the Creditors ft Bate Mo.mmitus arW Rgwtrr yTtia vents. Usaar Jooaw„L SGAM11-William Calhoun bas been is htsrteens to Liberty ply for 's years. Dar• beg that tune. his Icing the Ttdlor shop has btttlE elened oul throe fumes by burglars aid burned an ogre in a rare ftot. "sk a starred from moo low tinier;' ie mes. -And wines 1 nay semi. l sass Jun{ ra aim btdldbig „ ti ll�,s�nar ttataW mare do to in days 1114 ll!)� I paying kin ti fir. ansomers' darks attea basace, so ids airs chant aF me bo•ee No. Wtiaever he Is Ywgla• AM -aid he his had law or Owe anller 'ewgtarta d 61111111101, to ti• throe clean - dots -be swailotrs the losx because he caws adord Insurance. AW be Is losing iOil 10 simpping Malb, tbrbit cis► .o ran get a wider Ube" of clthiag. . 'fie synaem looks at a iw bad business leopia. ' up Mr. sahebs, : peaelse min a tarawt. a tape sip A= MUM '% k@ aro AS U_ NN .1 e1* I W,hat's News-- people J,tp to beTHEODDS able to sarvive." But entrepre- MUM such as Mr. Calhoun afea't la LAST IN A SERIES the vanbgsard of any- MM. While more and more blacks are leaving the hoer elides, these business peo- ple are staying behind. Their businesses aren't praspssif g, and many are founder. sung. The business owners often don't have accountants or lawyers, and some lenders, contradicting Mr. Calhoun, say many of them really don't understand business. Yet they are the business core of Ub- erty City, a seven -square -mile enclave north of downtown Mlaml. If such places are to revive economically, small business Will surely play a role. Some entrepreneurs are doing well -creating lobs and turning profits -and local boosters talk optimisu- cally about the neighborhood's prospects. But as to mop depressed areas, the overall picture Isn't encouraging. The deeper one looks. the more confounding It seems. .Cbft E" "1 gal robbed several times and shot one of the dines. and that kind of depleted my egoria, you kum." says Arthur Brooks, who owns Uncle Arthur's conve- eleaos smote, an be sin a an empty cooler Ilig"Isg his chat wism toe bullet bra. Mr. Brooks, who has been here since IM once had live entpiryees and opprr` aced loom 7 a.m. to It p.m. Now.Ite Is down to two and. for ably. stollen at 9. Rvea daring gk day. In reluctant to tw kin femalone. ICs too " he says. "People ad I a lady. TbeY figure all a 17. IM Indhatriat Production I� I+•�nafr.ww at.�e.it,.aia..d. World -Wide The heart of the Liberty City business ate is the intersection of Northwest 7th Aveaue and 6711d Street, which Is also named Martin Luther King Boulevard. The area was gutted In the Ilse riot, In which A people died and about 240 businesses were damaged or deauoyed. That catas- trophe followed another riot, In 1961. Jug cool Stem 1980. public money has flowed in, and the area has been rebuill somewhat and repainted. Today, the biggest building at the intersection features a mural foctw' Ing on the Rev. King the "Pranwof Peace." Above It is a sip for 01W;of the built ing's tenants: Exprm t+ . one of several new businesses kUM Chinese. d here by Pa On dun 7th Averrue sits an empty, crumbft theater; Then a block of small shop. A reggae`tune throbs out from Just Cod, a Wsat Indian grocery owned by a 35- year-oldthastafarian wbo himself Is known "Jett Cool. A street vendor sells hot dogs from a pushcart, and next to him another vendor offers Incense and oils from a small table. The Nigerian owner of a furniture store prepares to ship a sofa to Haiti. In another shop, a businessman talks candidly about handling creditors. "You send envelopes without the check. You send the [heck and d9C1_dp.IL _Y fsa_, out 4m_1be=days-6f-appAliitteents with bill collectors. It's Just Ingenuity. These are the things we have to do Just to exist." .�'ii1�Al�10 ' I,• :. Ubw Letter A3"GW NowR•powt«t '/lad Th k Jobe Ft" Across Abe street, another merchant says IWIiiis given up on bookkeepin& "I keep records, but I can't afford to .pay for help to do that anymore." he says, iddlag that he now tuns his business out of the cash register. "I pay bills when some- one comes to threaten me or cut something off." he says. The last thing cut off was the water, for about a week, until he came up with some money. Prentice Rasheed Is staging a sale. Banners outside his bright -yellow Trading Post proclaim "Everything Under f5," and the "Peppermint Twist" blares from a ra- dio loudspeaker above the door. Mr. Ra- sheed's rather rundown shop stocks a wide range of dry goods -"wholesale, retail. Im- port, export and manufacturing," his busi- ness card says -but business Is slow. Mr. Rasheed made International head- lines In 1996 when a would-be burglar was electrocuted by an anti -theft device wired to the ceiling of his shop. A grand Jury didn't Indict him, and later Mr. Rasheed ADOPT spetW WHear. etc% d stems paled by sat Cum Jachm Lift 5"Wer i gran rank Alps a top labor Issue. Isis; op raw Amy. pptletea. 'rho flan says e "pa1TL" A survey by carqulUM t Assoelates showed similar results Pony computes don't want special 'We treat AM like any other cata- +dC dlsesae," pemidli tg medIcal beoe eoodRon secret, ttTet»rCrossa tb., Rltae IJuder and Bank of t also treat AIDE like any' moor Iti- ilosi employee oral keep AIDE pa - on the Job n laog as pasible. Nine Ragland exnapasles pat to educate ra about the disease. sae large JYrra ansimed an Flioltoy sartteft by a pay -rights q am cosnlnsls idle "We shoot E pia DAYS IR pk"H t• pure am al i nlest, a UJIant robed. I" if the otsilkeet Is b"ient or In- s Judge In Ebel Woft. Texas, said. Ina timWTed aaaerotary u Double Dt- m tee.. a Tans- walestate developer. began W10.the manager asked .. #hound" The rifler her to put He os led Neste W tap. heavily. nlso Id.bw &pJW Am door in bra oalee. - Dual Stock C04 Spur Powerful De Over Stabihtg Jiff Shares With M Anger Co jj And Many bpvo 'If You Don't L'iW4 By Imsua ?arwB atUltawer.•U'rw.w The Killer Be are Not On bneets. lost powerful Toting shares. people wbon peramn Ohm eannl ep to u dross an"a atwlders—pmocwuw 1111111110 •rf www as as}sonwit onw- himA � Wan &Sid 1111WMe holdare 11� Wrilly of MWM Genrdl W* Rri flee ntltt be ?' family at Dew Julia a > . The y koM In a vO gay often called Chisis L With 11. trig holders sumdtalia dab IlOadbllar takeoover. lissrle nickname. With this kid d !!U t ban a strong alw mp ... �... _ • •V' by male mestgers. one• No w haw I V, .►., judge eeBed the roils Mr. >tiprmas ■ altd staid Ike see- era's amw ntles.. 9E WALL STREET JOURNAL TUESDAY. MAY 17. 1988 oug Business: I rying to Continurd From Firs►Pngr an for a seat on the Miami city commis - ion. placing third. As he talks, a slight woman in a white shirt and gray skirt slips in the door. She lutches her stomach with one hand and er young son with the other. She quietly leads for money, and Mr. Rasheed. a de - out Muslim who keeps a large Koran on ne counter, gives her a handful of bills Vom his cash register. I must give away S30 or $40 a week," lays. "They come through here— ralate hungry, they have children. They l kinds of problems." i According to a study prepared for Ta- colcy Economic Development Corp., a non- profit group behind several Liberty City fevelopment projects, about 36,000 people ive within a mile of here. Nearly 85 c are black, and 381-, of those over age 25 have QQtily an elementary-school education. In >fliB6, almost a third of the households had onnual incomes under $7,500. The area is obviously fttressed, with decaying tenements and drug houses, but t isn't the hard-core ghetto that it is often yed as. Much of the neighborhood d the business district consists of odest single-family homes, many of them enced. Several building projects are under ray, and locals point to them with pride. 1 think the whole neighborhood is begin - in to sparkle up a little bit," Mr. Brooks Sys. t The Tacolcy study says local residents spend about $148 million at retail annu- ally, which mushrooms to $936 million if e count is expanded to a three-mile ra- us of this business center. The neighbor- od Isn't without commercial potential. A Inn -Dixie supermarket that opened here few years ago as part of a post -riot rede- elopment project is big, modern, well- oocked,, well -managed —and booming. Money However, community leaders say local usinesses don't get most of the locals' oney. With Integration forcing the small rms to compete against the whole city, e supermarket's success hasn't trickled Gown the few doors to Vernon Quinn's Star Mashions shop. "I crashed way before the ock market did," says Mr. Quinn, who opened his shoe and hat store in 1982 and moved to this location in 1995. He blames bis troubles on a lack of working capital, hich, he says, means he can't afford an dequate inventory or much advertising. "Most black businesses just get enough oney to open the doors," says Mr. Quinn, dding that the $10,000 or so of savings he Nd to start up simply wasn't enough. ou can have all the technical assets, t If you don't have the financing, you tale vn't got anything. That's like going to ballpark without having the ball." His case illustrates another aspect of tproblem. The Miami city commission t September authorized S570,000 in low - Interest loans for Liberty City businesses. t was supposed to be risk capital, without 3nings—and long forms and bureau - 0 Black Entrepreneurs Face Hurdles Pr; Survive Amid Problems of Inner Cities cracy—that daunt or disqualify many In- ner-city borrowers. The program was slow in getting started, but in December several businesses, including Mr. Quinn's, were approved for loans. When news of the approvals hit the lo- cal papers, officials began getting angry calls from Mr. Quinn's creditors, who questioned why he was getting S50.000 when he was far behind in what he owed them. Reacting to the uproar, the commit- tee temporarily froze all loans under the program —enraging the would-be bor- rowers —while it sorted out the problems. A Stacked Deck Now the program is back in gear, and %It. Quinn has received some $33.000. which he says already is causing business to pick up. Still, the episode, with its on - again off -again promises of loans, con. vinced many small-business people that they had been right all along in thinking that the system is stacked against minority entrepreneurs. Perhaps as much as any- thing, it suggests the sort of vicious circle that traps many inner-city businesses and those trying to assist them. "I think the merchants' perceptions of what their needs are are different from the lenders' perceptions of what their needs are, and I think that is where the conflict arises," says Terry Conward, a black woman who is the executive director of the Dade Employment and Economic Develop- ment Corp. (That group, an Independent agency that oversees county loans to Inner- city businesses, wasn't involved in the pro- gram that lent to Mr. Quinn.) She and oth- ers say many inner-city entrepreneurs ex- pect public funds without strict supervi- sion, while lenders say that is often needed more than the loan itself. "The problem may not be a problem just of money," says Caesar Phillips, a black who manages Florida Power & Light Co.'s Liberty City branch and heads the loan committee of Miami Capital Develop- ment Inc., a nonprofit outfit that adminis- ters several government -funded lending programs. "Sometimes, it's a problem of knowing how to manage a business." Vir- tually all inner-city lenders agree. "We had somebody with a very poor credit report from Sears," Ms. Conward says in describing one would-be entrepre- neur who applied for a loan. "It turned out Sears had told him he could pay off his bill at S10 a month. He paid S60 in one month and didn't pay anything for the next five. thinking he'd taken care of six months' worth of bills. He didn't understand it doesn't work that way." `Technical Assistance' Lenders attack such problems by insist- tng that borrowers accept "technical assis- tance" from their experts or that they en- roll in business -education courses. But many borrowers fear that such assistance will lead to, as Mr. Rasheed puts it, "them running my business" —which borrowers resent and resist. Lenders themselves also have mixed records. Some institutions created as in- ner-city lenders are so conservative that little of their money is actually lent out. and their hard-line reputations alone scare off would-be borrowers. And every lender has its own financial concerns. "You can blame us for anything, actu- ally, and you may be right," says Pablo Perez -Cisneros. Miami Capital's executive director. "But we have that ultimate duty to see the money comes back. If we don't. we may as well close shop." Otis Pitts Jr., who grew up In this area and worked as a policeman, now heads Ta- colcy Economic Development. Largely funded by the Ford Foundation, it is one of the most hopeful things here. it restored the shopping mall that the Winn -Dixie and Mr. Quinn's Star Fashions occupy and re- cently opened a high-rise apartment build- ing. Mr. Pitts notes that most small busi. nesses—anywhere—fail, and he credits the ones here for simply hanging on. "These people have to operate In the most hostile of environments," he says. "They are working in an area with a bad Image, buildings are falling down around them, they are undercapitalized, and they're forced Into business practices that aren't competitive. Most only accept cash. They're in a sea of all these disincentives — and they survive." He adds: "They are su- per businessmen." Velo-Bind Inc. Stake Is Increased to 14.1 % By Woodland Group Bua WA" SrncerJouRNALStaff Reporter WASHINGTON — A group including Woodland Venture Fund, a Roslyn. N.Y.. investment limited partnership, said it raised its stake in Velo-Bind Inc. to 14.10''t of the common shares outstanding. In a Securities and Exchange Commis- sion filing, the group said it holds 684,713 common shares in the maker of book and document binding systems, Including 100,- 000 purchased May 3 for $7.25 each. According to the filing, the group de- cided against hiring an investment banker to explore Its options in connection with its Velo-Bind investment. As previously reported, the group said it acquired its stake in Velo-Bind for in- vestment purposes but said It may hire an investment banker to explore alternatives. Alternatives could have Included suggest- ing business strategies to Velo-Bind's man- agement. seeking board representation and attempting to gain control through a ten- der offer, merger or other transaction. In Sunnyvale, Calif., a Velo-Bind official declined to comment on Woodland's fil- ing. In national over-the-counter trading yesterday, Velo-Bind shares rose 75 cents to $7.25. Eqn pro' Opel clos shai clos shat imp will chat May or rc brok SA--46f;