{"id":16401,"date":"2026-04-08T03:20:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T03:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/08\/mayor-mamdani-appoints-mom-and-pop-czar-to-reduce-red-tape-for-nyc-small-business-owners\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T03:20:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T03:20:59","slug":"mayor-mamdani-appoints-mom-and-pop-czar-to-reduce-red-tape-for-nyc-small-business-owners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/08\/mayor-mamdani-appoints-mom-and-pop-czar-to-reduce-red-tape-for-nyc-small-business-owners\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayor Mamdani appoints &#8216;mom and pop czar&#8217; to reduce red tape for NYC small business owners"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/topic\/business\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> BUSINESS<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mayor Mamdani appoints &#039;mom and pop czar&#039; to reduce red tape for NYC small business ownersBy<a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/about\/newsteam\/anthony-carlo\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Anthony Carlo<\/a>  <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"WABC logo\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.abcotvs.net\/abcotv\/static\/common\/origins\/origin-wabc.png\"\/>Wednesday, April 8, 2026 3:21AM<\/p>\n<p>THE BRONX, New York (WABC) &#8212; Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed New York&#039;s first-ever mom and pop czar on Tuesday, with the mission to help reduce red tape for small business owners around the city.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Bites on Valentine&quot; was the bright idea one mom was determined to bring to life in the Bronx, with fun food, catchy quotes and a philanthropic mission to give her family a better life.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;We&#039;re trying to achieve the American dream, and so with that, I&#039;m not even quite sure clearly what that is, but at this point, it&#039;s having a situation that is set and ready for our daughter,&quot; said Dianna Peralta, the owner of Bites on Valentine.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.abcotvs.com\/dip\/images\/18854494_040726-wabc-bites-better-img.jpg\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>However, getting the business ready to succeed was like having all the ingredients but no recipe. The city offered help, but it was all knotted up in red tape.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;It&#039;s a lot of running around or sending you to a different department or a different department from there,&quot; Peralta said. &quot;It&#039;s just&#8230; you don&#039;t get the help that you need to be able to make a business thrive here.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>But Mamdani wants to change that, and on Tuesday, appointed a so-called &quot;mom and pop czar&quot; to work closely with the city&#039;s Department of Small Business Services, and to help cut through the red tape.<\/p>\n<p>Delia Awusi was hired to reduce the runaround mom and pops often face in dealing with permits, inspections and fines.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.abcotvs.com\/dip\/images\/18854488_040726-wabc-mom-pop-czar-img.jpg\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>&quot;And then they have all these questions they can&#039;t find the answers,&quot; said Lisa Sorin, the president of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n<p>Sorin says having one voice to give small businesses a seat at the table at City Hall is a positive move as long as it&#039;s executed correctly.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Our concern as a business, as a chamber, when working with the city is how much teeth will these new appointments have? Because if they don&#039;t, it&#039;s almost like a sounding board and we have plenty of those,&quot; Sorin said.<\/p>\n<p>The owners of Bites on Valentine say multiple businesses before them failed because they believe they didn&#039;t get enough help from the city.<\/p>\n<p>The vast majority of small businesses in the Bronx are what are known as &quot;ultra&quot; small businesses, meaning they have fewer than 10 employees. They need every ounce of help they can get to get off the ground.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Hopefully, there will be less red tape. A lot less back and forth with this agency,&quot; Peralta said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>* <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/bronx\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">More Bronx news<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>* <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/7ny.tv\/submitnewstip\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Send us a news tip<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>* <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/apps\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>*<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/apps\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> Download our connected TV app<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News<\/h2>\n<p>Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below.    If attaching a video or photo, <a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/image-video-solicitation-and-rights-terms-of-use\/5101040\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">terms of use apply.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/extras\/reporttypo?url=https%3A%2F%2Fabc7ny.com%2Fpost%2Fmayor-mamdani-appoints-mom-pop-czar-delia-awusi-reduce-red-tape-nyc-small-business-owners%2F18854307%2F\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Report a correction or typo<\/a>Copyright \u00a9 2026 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n<h2>Related Topics<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/topic\/business\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> BUSINESS<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/place\/new-york-city\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> NEW YORK CITY<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/place\/bronx\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> BRONX<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/tag\/small-business\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> SMALL BUSINESS<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/tag\/zohran-mamdani\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> ZOHRAN MAMDANI<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/tag\/new-york-city-politics\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> NEW YORK CITY POLITICS<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Watch Live<a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/watch\/live\/11064922\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">ON NOW<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/post\/bronx-woman-dealing-rat-infestation-inside-apartment-finally-getting-help-city\/18853310\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.abcotvs.com\/dip\/images\/18853369_040726-wabc-bronx-resident-rat-infestation-img.jpg?w=992\"\/><\/p>\n<h2>Bronx woman gets help from unlikely source in fight to rid apartment of rats<\/h2>\n<p><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/post\/police-working-coordinated-search-suspect-80-cars-vandalized-nj-towns\/18853350\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.abcotvs.com\/dip\/images\/18853421_040726-wabc-damaged-windshields-img.jpg?w=992\"\/><\/p>\n<h2>Police searching for suspect after more than 80 cars damaged across several NJ towns<\/h2>\n<p><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/post\/gilgo-beach-suspected-serial-killer-rex-heuermann-expected-plead-guilty-death-8th-woman\/18852774\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.abcotvs.com\/dip\/images\/18850119_040626-wabc-ap-gilgo-suspect-img.jpg?w=992\"\/><\/p>\n<h2>Gilgo Beach suspect expected to plead guilty to murder of 8th woman<\/h2>\n<p><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/post\/dog-napping-new-jersey-police-looking-woman-child-taken-familys-backyard\/18853166\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.abcotvs.com\/dip\/images\/18853416_040726-wabc-dog-snatch-inset-img.jpg?w=992\"\/><\/p>\n<h2>Woman, child seen snatching dog from family&#039;s backyard in NJ<\/h2>\n<p><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/post\/malcolm-middle-lifes-unfair-red-carpet-premiere-held-nyc\/18854369\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.abcotvs.com\/dip\/images\/18854495_040726-wabc-malcolm-in-the-middle-img.jpg?w=992\"\/><\/p>\n<h2>&#039;Malcolm in the Middle: Life&#039;s Still Unfair&#039; red carpet premiere held in New York<\/h2>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BUSINESSMayor Mamdani appoints &#039;mom and pop czar&#039; to reduce red tape for NYC small business ownersByAnthony Carlo Wednesday, April 8, 2026 3:21AMTHE BRONX, New York (WABC) &#8212; Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed New York&#039;s first-ever mom and pop czar on Tuesday, with the mission to help reduce red tape for small business owners around the city.<br \/>\n&#8220;Bites on Valentine&#8221; was the bright idea one mom was determined to bring to life in the Bronx, with fun food, catchy quotes and a philanthropic mission to give her family a better life.<br \/>\n&#8220;We&#039;re trying to achieve the American dream, and so with that, I&#039;m not even quite sure clearly what that is, but at this point, it&#039;s having a situation that is set and ready for our daughter,&#8221; said Dianna Peralta, the owner of Bites on Valentine.<br \/>\nHowever, getting the business ready to succeed was like having all the ingredients but no recipe. The city offered help, but it was all knotted up in red tape.<br \/>\n&#8220;It&#039;s a lot of running around o..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tie-business","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}