The process of unwinding the lockdown is definitely upon us. Human frustration with these unprecedented restrictions is turning out to be an unstoppable force. This is completely understandable.
The political leadership is responding to these concerns appropriately. It still leaves an option for concerned individuals to proceed cautiously. There is a reported resurgence in at least two areas of China and a very unfortunate incident in a Texas church that lost its pastor twelve days after reopening. Individuals can restrict their activity while the different States open up and see what happens.
Personally, I encourage caution even though it is difficult, simply because so many of my patients and even some personal friends both suffered terribly from the illness and a too large number of them died. We cannot be certain how successful social distancing will be if large numbers of people return to their offices, stores, malls and recreational facilities. We can all venture a guess but in the absence of previous experience with this virus it is a guess.
If this is of assistance to the business people who read this blog my local SBA office sent me the link to get the forms for calculating and submitting a request to get loan forgiveness for funds received under the PPP program The link to the forms is:
It is complicated. Mr Ximines also sent me the link to a video presentation lasting an hour which carefully explains the process. It definitely makes it easier to understand the eleven page document which includes four forms to fill out and the instructions for how to do it. The link for the Vimeo video is
I cannot pretend to be any sort of expert on this. The process is complex. Once the eight week period following the disbursement of the funds expires the opportunity to repair any bookkeeping issues is over. They ask for a great deal of detail and evidence that salary checks were cashed. The form asks detailed questions to demonstrate whether the level of salary and the level of employment (fulltime equivalent employees) during the program declined. Because many businesses are simply less busy during the crisis it is understandable that they have less worked hours during this eight week period. The consequence is that an unanticipated fraction of the funds will have to be returned. By reading and listening to the details soon after the funds are disbursed managers can organize their businesses so that the benefit of the PPP program is maximized
Apparently the forms and video are hot off the press as the regulations were only finalized May 15. I have to express appreciation to Mr Ximines who lost no time in rushing the information to his clients. Thank you. His contact information is listed below in case it is helpful.
Luan Ximines
Business Advisor
Brooklyn Small Business Development Center
NYC College of Technology
25 Chapel St.
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-260-6348
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