Officials: $1M in pandemic grants to Oyster Bay businesses, groups

A combined $1 million in federal grants has been distributed by the Town of Oyster Bay in the past two months to small businesses and nonprofits financially damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.

At least 200 local businesses so far have each received $5,000 through the Oyster Bay Forward grant program, Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino and other officials announced Monday at a news conference in Muttontown.

The town set aside $4.9 million of the $24.3 million it received from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act — also known as the COVID-19 stimulus package — for the program. The town will pay $400,000 to Brooklyn-based National Development Council to administer the grants.

Nearly three years after the pandemic began, many local businesses and nonprofits continue to struggle, particularly with high levels of inflation nationwide, Saladino said.

“So, in some ways they’re getting hit even harder,” Saladino said. “And at a time when revenue was down for many of these businesses, they've had lots and lots of additional costs that they had to cover because of the pandemic … So, this is one way to help to recognize the importance of our businesses that are providing jobs and providing an economic base.”

The program, which is ongoing, is open to small businesses and other organizations that can certify they were hurt financially by the pandemic.

Applicants must be the principal of the business; have no more than 50 full-time employees; annual revenue between $35,000 and $5 million and be in operation before Jan. 1, 2021. For nonprofit groups, at least 60% of expenses must have been used for programming in 2019, according to the requirements.

The grant money can be spent on a host of expenses such as maintenance supplies, property taxes, rent, utilities and the lease or purchase of equipment.

The grant recipients include Ted Ketsoglou, owner of the Jericho Cider Mill, a Muttontown mainstay with Island roots dating back to the early 1800s that sells pies, doughnuts, apple crisps and specialty cider.

Ketsoglou said his business dropped sharply after the pandemic, with many customers afraid to shop indoors.

“For a while there, it was a little bit rough, getting people to come back and shop close together, even with social distancing,” he said. “But we’re all coming out of it and getting stronger each and every week.”

The Cider Mill plans to use its $5,000 grant to upgrade a machine used to bottle their cider. The new equipment, which costs $8,000, will allow labels to be put on automatically, Ketsoglou said. Currently, staff puts the labels on by hand.

“We were ready to do that just before the pandemic and then, of course, everything stopped,” Ketsoglou said. “And financially we didn’t want to take a chance and spend any money at the time.”

Oyster Bay has said in financial documents that it plans to split its $24.3 million American Rescue Plan Act allocation funding between programs for small businesses, water quality improvements, and reserves or revenue replacement.

Applicants can apply for grants through the program at TOBForward.com.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.