Youngstown, OH — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced on Oct 9th, that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved his request for federal support for businesses impacted by an explosion earlier this year in Youngstown.  

On Monday, Governor DeWine sent a letter to the SBA requesting the activation of the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program for businesses impacted by the explosion at the Realty Building on East Federal Street in May. 

Governor DeWine made the request after a survey of area businesses found that many experienced substantial economic injury from the time of the explosion until the building was fully demolished late last month.  The survey found that demolition work severely limited access to parking and pedestrian walkways, leading to a decrease in customers and a forced reduction in staff and/or staff hours. 

The SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program provides low-interest loans to help cover the costs and expenses that businesses would have been able to pay had a disaster not occurred. To qualify, businesses must be directly impacted by the disaster, physically located within the declared disaster area, and unable to cover expenses due to the disaster and/or debt payments. For more information on the program, visit sba.gov.