New York City's small businesses having trouble navigating the squeeze of rising rents, dwindling availability and soaring expenses are getting a boost from the city. Mayor Zohran Mamdani doubled the funding for a city program designed to help commercial tenants in lease negotiations in his first municipal budget, up from $4M to $8M. The commercial lease assistance program was introduced in 2018 under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, following the city council’s passing of a law two years earlier that created new protections for commercial tenants. “There really isn't a clear and good standardized commercial lease,” ANHD Executive Director Barika Williams said. It also makes it easier for landlords to lease spaces to small businesses, Cushman & Wakefield Executive Managing Director Steven Soutendijk said.