For years, commercial landlords have been demanding cash "under the table" from their tenants in exchange for renewing their leases.
"These fees, which merchants are expected to pay on top of rent in order to renew their leases, are common" in ethnic communities. The Asociacion de Bodegueros de los Estados Unidos, a national association of Hispanic merchants, reports that "one in three merchants in New York City must pay these fees."
"A survey confirmed what immigrant owners already knew: It's almost routine for landlords to demand 'cash money' under the table to negotiate a new lease."
KARMABrooklyn supports the Small Business Survival Act. Outrageously high rent hikes, in addition to the extorted cash, mean that "An estimated 48,000 Hispanic small businesses will close in five years without the protection of the Small Business Survival Act." "Nearly 60 percent of the city's small businesses are owned by women - and they will not survive without the Small Business Survival Act."