NYC BEST Helped 3,000+ Small Businesses. How Storefront Founders Can Use the Expanded Advocate Team This Week
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani’s administration says SBS has helped more than 3,000 small businesses through NYC BEST and more than doubled the advocate team to 30. Here’s a practical guide for storefront founders on how to call, what the team can (and cannot) do, and how this differs from statewide red-tape stories.
NEW YORK — If you are opening or running a storefront in the five boroughs, the hardest part is often not the product — it is the stack of licenses, permits, inspections, and agency handoffs that sit between a signed lease and a legal open sign.
On Nov. 5, 2026, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced progress on that problem: since the start of the administration, the Department of Small Business Services (SBS) has helped more than 3,000 small businesses obtain licenses and navigate licensing and permitting through the New York City Business Express Service Team (NYC BEST), including 97 businesses opening for the first time.
The news peg for founders is not only the headcount of businesses helped. SBS has more than doubled NYC BEST — hiring 17 new Small Business Advocates so the team now numbers 30 — and trained every advisor on the requirements of key enforcement agencies. That expansion is the practical story for anyone who needs a human guide this week, not another PDF.
What the Administration Says Has Changed
According to the Mayor’s Office release, since the start of the Mamdani administration SBS has:
- Helped more than 3,000 small businesses obtain licenses and navigate permitting through NYC BEST, including 97 first-time openings
- Hired 17 new business advisors, bringing NYC BEST to 30 advocates, with every advisor trained on key enforcement agencies
- Recommended more than 50 reforms to eliminate outdated permits, redundant paperwork, and unnecessary fines
- Advocated for Int. 0655, making outdoor dining on City roadways permanent and year-round
- Provided more than $8.4 million in grants to community-based organizations serving more than 20,000 small businesses
- Delivered the updated Business Owner Bill of Rights to more than 4,000 small businesses
- Deployed SBS’s Mobile Unit at 40 events, reaching more than 1,300 New Yorkers
Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su and SBS Commissioner Kenny Minaya also convened the first quarterly meeting of City agencies under Executive Order 18, which the mayor signed to speed licensing and permitting reforms and improve how agencies work with owners.
“Small business owners already work long hours on thin margins. They should not have to spend those hours navigating City bureaucracy or paying fines that have nothing to do with making their business better,” Mayor Mamdani said in the announcement. “Our job is to make City government easier to deal with.”
Deputy Mayor Su said owners should get a straight answer “no matter which agency you call.” Commissioner Minaya said advocates hear daily about what gets in owners’ way and brought those problems to the agencies that can fix them. Patrick Hall of Elan Flowers, quoted on the City page, described agencies that each see only their own requirements and said the task force gives hope they will combine what they hear from owners and get that picture to policymakers “before another well-intended requirement adds costs — in money and time — we simply cannot absorb.”
How NYC BEST Actually Works for Storefronts
Unlike statewide EXPRESS NY reforms or Bill of Rights explainers, NYC BEST is a city advocate service for brick-and-mortar owners. Per the program page, advocates help you understand licenses and permits, streamline agency interactions, prepare for inspections, decode violations, and get on-site walkthroughs with a customized checklist.
NYC BEST works with FDNY, DOB, DCWP, DEP, DOHMH, DSNY, NYS Agriculture & Markets, NYS Liquor Authority, Con Edison, and National Grid. It serves food, personal care, retail, and service storefronts — restaurants, bodegas, salons, laundromats, pharmacies, childcare centers, and more.
Important limits: NYC BEST does not issue violations or fines, and it cannot exempt your business from inspections or enforcement by city, state, or federal agencies. Think of advocates as navigators and translators, not as a shield from the inspector.
The program also runs Bootcamp webinars covering permits and applications, buildouts and renovations, utilities, responding to violations, outdoor vending, and waste management.
How to Request Help This Week
- Call the SBS hotline: 888-SBS-4NYC (888-727-4692), Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and ask for NYC BEST. Services are available in multiple languages.
- Have an SBS Connect account. You need to log in or create an account to apply or request storefront help.
- Be ready with specifics. Address, business type, which agencies you are stuck with (DOHMH vs. FDNY vs. DOB), and whether you are pre-opening, mid-buildout, or responding to a violation.
- Ask for a walkthrough if you have a physical space. On-site regulatory education is one of the clearest advantages of an expanded 30-person advocate team.
- Pair this with the reform track. If a rule feels outdated or duplicative, tell your advocate — SBS says it has already recommended more than 50 reforms and is feeding issues into the Executive Order 18 agency meetings.
Why This Story Is Different From EXPRESS NY
Albany’s EXPRESS NY package is about statewide regulatory reforms. The Business Owner Bill of Rights is about what you can expect when City inspectors show up. NYC BEST is the human layer: a doubled advocate team that helps storefront founders navigate licenses and permits one business at a time. For owners opening this month — or staring at a violation they do not understand — that is the program to call first.