Letter: White-Owned Businesses Unfairly Received The Bulk Of Town’s ARPA Funds
Photo: Hazel's Blue Lagoon
The following letter was sent to the Amherst Town Council, Town Manager, and Town Finance Director on July 17, 2023.
I raised concerns about bias and ethics regarding the allocation of ARPA funds to the business community last summer of 2022, but some of you and the BID/DAF director doubled down on the narrative that the ARPA funds were distributed from an “equity lens” and that “marginalized business owners” were awarded 95% of the funds.
I have attached a detailed breakdown of ARPA money disbursed to the entire business community, provided by the town finance director, Sean Mangano at my request in 2022 and 2023. A total of $364,000 was disbursed to 19 businesses. The white-owned private night club, The Drake, received $300,000 (82%). Eleven additional white-owned businesses were awarded $28,500 (8%). The combined total amount distributed to twelve white owned businesses was $328,500 (90%).
Seven BIPOC business owners received $35,500 (10%), one BIPOC business was approved for technical assistance. and one BIPOC owned business declined a technical assistance offer. Existing Black-owned businesses that are members of Black Business Association of Amherst Area (BBAAA) did not receive ARPA money including the black owned night club, Hazel’s Blue Lagoon.
Spreading the falsehood that BIPOC businesses received 55% of the ARPA funds is a tactic intended to confuse the public and it will not work. The Drake is part of the business community, it is not a non-profit entity as is falsely being promoted, there is nothing special about The Drake. It is licensed by the town of Amherst as a night club business, the same as Hazel’s.
Pat Ononibaku
Pat Ononibaku is Present of the Black Business Association of Amherst Area||
I agree that – if these figures are correct – the overwhelming amount granted to the Drake is improper and unfair.
I understand the thinking that the Drake might be a magnet that will attract new businesses to downtown, and bring new people to existing businesses, but it goes way off track to then give $300k to the Drake and $35k to BIPOC businesses. If this is not self-dealing, I don’t know what is.
The Drake is promoted as having a mission of helping the downtown, not seizing the lion’s share of ARPA in some ravenous version of trickle down economics. It is a business funded by all the property owners in the central business district, it should have the capacity to grow without consuming 82% of money meant to rescue businesses suffering from a pandemic.
The conflicts of interest all around this situation are infuriating. My vote is to redistribute much of that money, with apologies and regrets, to the businesses the BID is supposed to be improving.
(also, an earlier article seemed to say that the BID included women owned businesses as BIPOC. I support women owned businesses, but unless the owner is BIPOC, it’s not BIPOC)