Rajeev Maini, co-owner of the wedding venue Metropolitan Caterers, speaks at a new conference on Monday, March 1, 2021, in Hicksville, N.Y. about the March 9 deadline for the smallest businesses to apply for Paycheck Protection Program loans. Credit: News12

The smallest businesses have one more week to use an exclusive application window for Paycheck Protection Program loans, officials said Monday.

The U.S. Small Business Administration, which oversees the COVID-19 relief program, is only processing loan applications for borrowers with fewer than 20 employees until 5 p.m. on March 9. The forms are submitted to the SBA by banks and other private lenders.

With 50% of the PPP funds already exhausted, small-business owners and their supporters held a news conference Monday in Hicksville to boost the number of applications from Long Island. Led by downtowns advocate Eric Alexander, the 17 participants chanted, "Apply," "Apply," "Apply," as drivers passed on South Broadway, a few honking their car horns in support.

"My businesses have been hit hard by the COVID pandemic … It’s very, very hard to keep employees, to come up with the rent," said Rajeev Maini, co-owner of the wedding venue Metropolitan Caterers and soon-to-open Metropolitan Restaurant and Bar, both in Glen Cove.

"The PPP loans definitely help, but they don’t last more than a month with the type of business we're in," he said. "So, we’re asking government — please, what else can be done to help our businesses, our employees."

Zeshan Hamid, president of Shaheen, a restaurant and catering business in Hicksville, agreed, saying entrepreneurs welcomed President Joe Biden’s decision to set aside two weeks for SBA to only approve loan applications from small borrowers. The decision came in response to criticism that the smallest firms and those owned by minorities and women were slighted in the first round of PPP last year.

"Thank you, President Biden for allowing small business with under 20 employees to go to the head of the line" for the PPP loan approval process, Hamid said outside his business. "However, it’s very difficult to find the line."

He and others praised Biden for easing restrictions on loan applications from borrowers who are legal residents but not U.S. citizens.

PPP loans come with an interest rate of 1% and a five-year term. First-time borrowers may receive up to $10 million and second-time borrowers, up to $2 million. The federally-guaranteed loans are forgivable if the terms are met. Newsday received a $10 million loan in April. PPP 2.0 ends on March 31 for all borrowers.

Alexander said, "We don’t want to leave money on the table" as happened with PPP’s first round. "We want to get these funds to small businesses."

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