Citywide DCWP · POWER Act · Critical
POWER Act: a private right to sue over unfair business practices
On October 8, Consumer and Worker Protection Chair Harvey Epstein introduced the POWER Act on the mayor's behalf. It would create a city-law private right of action for unfair, abusive, or unlawful business practices and unfair competition. Under current New York consumer law, individuals can only sue over deception.
Workers, consumers, tenants and tenant unions, small businesses, and nonprofits could sue. Nonprofits could bring claims on behalf of their members and the public. The administration's examples: tenant unions suing landlords over deceptive practices, taxi drivers suing lenders over unconscionable loans, and students suing predatory for-profit schools.
The announcement does not describe damages or remedies, and it describes no small business exemption. Some business groups have already said they are not sold on the bill.
Impact
This cuts both ways. A small business harmed by a predatory equipment lease, a merchant cash advance, or an abusive platform fee would gain a way to sue. A small business could also be sued over practices that today only DCWP can challenge. Watch for the hearing and for whether the bill adds a cure period or a size threshold before it moves.
Citywide SBS · Int. 0799-2026 · High
Storefronts hurt by city construction could get $15,000 grants
The Council passed Int. 0799, 47-0, on October 8. It requires SBS to create a program of loans, grants, and services for small businesses hurt by city construction projects expected to disrupt traffic for 30 days or more.
Per storefront per year: loans up to $50,000 at no more than 3 percent interest, and grants or reimbursements up to $15,000. Applicants must show a reasonable expectation of costs or losses from the project and a plan to mitigate them. SBS must issue a decision within 30 days and disburse within 14 days after a business meets the requirements.
It pairs with Int. 0866, passed September 10 and now enacted, which requires DOT and its permittees to post signs at each end of every affected block at least 48 hours before disruptive street work, with the contractor's contact information and expected start and end dates. Int. 0799 went to the mayor for signature.
Impact
If a city project is scheduled on your block, start documenting now: monthly sales for the prior year, photos of access and signage, and any customer complaints. The fund requires a showing of expected losses, and businesses with a baseline in hand will be first in line once SBS opens applications.
Citywide City Council · Discretionary Funding · Standard
$200,000 for panic buttons, split across five borough chambers
Speaker Menin announced $200,000 in Council discretionary funding on October 8 to help small businesses install panic buttons and security technology, split equally among the five borough chambers of commerce, about $40,000 per borough.
Eligible: ground-floor retail businesses with 50 or fewer employees. Priority goes to businesses outside BIDs, in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, and to minority- and women-owned businesses. Each chamber selects participants. The funding is a bridge until SBS builds the permanent program required by Local Law 120.
Impact
At $40,000 per borough, this will reach a limited number of storefronts. If you qualify, contact your borough chamber this month and ask how participants are being selected.
Citywide DOHMH · DCWP · Local Law 148 of 2026 · High
Sodium, sugar, and smoke shop laws became law October 10
The bills the Council passed September 10 became law on October 10 without the mayor's signature: Int. 0196, the redesigned sodium warning (Local Law 148 of 2026), Int. 0547, the added sugar warning and penalty update, and Int. 0813, which lets DCWP pull tobacco and e-cigarette licenses from shops that sell cannabis without a state license.
The sodium law takes effect immediately, but the new icon designs depend on Health Department rulemaking. Covered chain restaurants should expect a rule proposal, a comment period, and an effective date for menu changes before any penalties for the new icons apply. The penalty ladder for both warnings is a warning first, then $100, then $200 per violation.
The smoke shop law is the more immediate enforcement change. DCWP must run outreach to licensees, but the new grounds for refusing renewal, suspension, or revocation are in force now.
Impact
Chain franchisees: watch DOHMH's rules page for the sodium and sugar icon proposal and comment if the timeline is too short to reprint menus. Tobacco and vape retailers: any unlicensed cannabis product on premises now puts your DCWP license at risk, in addition to existing state penalties.
Editorial note
The Weekly Rundown is informational reporting, not legal advice. Fine ranges and deadlines are drawn from official NYC and NYS agency publications and established reporting as of the week covered. Laws change; verify the specific citation linked on each story before making a compliance decision. Quantitative impact estimates are modeled against a typical NYC small business and will vary by size, sector, and address.