Mamdani Unveils 50 Small-Business Rule Cuts, Expands Help to 180,000 NYC Firms

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 25

50 policy changes unveiled by Mayor Zohran Mamdani would scrap or ease permits, fees and renewals for small businesses, including rules on sidewalk produce sales, frozen-dessert permits and annual barber-shop licensing.
An executive order signed Monday also expands the NYC Best program so each of New York City's 180,000 small businesses can get a case worker to navigate city bureaucracy.
The overhaul targets a difficult climate for mom-and-pop shops: city data showed 3,540 businesses opened in 2025's second quarter while 8,400 similar-sized businesses closed, the weakest new-business formation in five years.
Restaurant inspections will be sped up, some equipment registration fees suspended for a year, and food-handling courses offered at multiple locations after owners complained current rules were costly and hard to meet.
The package gives the democratic socialist mayor a deregulatory, pro-small-business message that cuts against Republican and rightwing portrayals of him as anti-business.