Flash floods in early September left many homeowners and businesses in Western New York with soaked basements, ruined belongings and other property damage.
In response, the United States Small Business Administration has set up a temporary office at Tonawanda’s Ellwood Fire Department until the end of day on November 16, 2026 to help eligible parties apply for low-interest disaster loans.
The SBA is offering disaster loans to non-profits — including religious organizations — businesses, renters and homeowners in Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Wyoming, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua Counties who were impacted by the early September storm.
Town of Tonawanda Supervisor John Flynn said the temporary SBA office is a great resource following a storm that many people could not prepare for.
"It's a once every you know, 200 years, 100 year[s] storm," Flynn said. "They just don't happen every day. So the amount of rain that we got and in the short period of time that it happened, to be honest with you, there's really not much you can do to prepare for that."
Beyond low rates, the loans have other benefits, including not accruing interest or requiring a payment until 12 months after the funds are disbursed.
"These are all things that are that are that are pretty beneficial to especially homeowners and renters," Flynn said of the low rates and grace period.
The SBA offers different types of loans at different rates depending on the applicant type. For example, physical damage loans can help businesses and non-profits with up to $2 million in property damages, while economic injury loans can help with capital needs even if the organization applying didn't experience physical impacts of the storm. According to the SBA, rates "are as low as 4% for small businesses, 3.625% for nonprofits, and 3% for homeowners and renters with terms of up to 30 years."
Flynn said the temporary SBA office will be located at the Ellwood Fire Department at 1000 Englewood Ave, Kenmore, New York, until 5 p.m. on November 16. The SBA will be available at this location Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The temporary office will be closed on Veterans Day (November 11).
However, loan applications for physical damage are open until December 18, 2026 and for economic injury until July 19, 2027. The applications for assistance is available on the SBA's website under disaster number NY-20050.
