Federal Disaster Loans Of Up To $2M Available To Looted Businesses
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Southland stores and restaurants which were looted and damaged earlier this month during the George Floyd protests will be eligible to receive low-interest federal loans of up to $2 million, authorities announced Friday.
When California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state emergency on May 30 during the unrest that hit the region, it triggered the ability for the U.S. Small Business Administration to make assistance available to affected businesses.
The loans are available to businesses of all sizes, including nonprofits. They can be used to replace damaged or destroyed inventory, equipment and real estate.
Interest rates will start at 3% for businesses and 2.75% for nonprofits, with terms up to 30 years, SBA says.
The deadline to apply is Aug. 17 for property damage, and March 17, 2021, for economic injury.
Beginning May 29 and lasting several days, hundreds of looters took advantage of the peaceful protests that were being held against police brutality to ransack and vandalize dozens of businesses across the region.
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Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Long Beach were among the cities hit the hardest. Several stores were set ablaze or completely destroyed. Several thousand people were arrested during that week, although the majority of those were peaceful protesters who were arrested for breaking curfew.