HONOLULU (KHON2) — Struggling businesses along the rail construction line were expecting some financial help from the city this month. A new law went into effect July 1 for relief funding, but nobody has received the money yet.
One business called for help, using KHON2’s Report It function to ask when businesses can expect help.
Business has been tough recently at Ha Long Pho. They’re located at the Waiakamilo Shopping Center at the corner of Waiakamilo and Dillingham – right in the heart of the rail construction line.
“I can say that definitely cause there’s no left turn in, they gotta go out of their way to get into this shopping center over here,” said Lindsey Jade Ligsay, of Ha Long Pho. “Foot traffic and all that has been a little bit less lately ever since the construction on this side.”
Help for affected businesses could take a while.
The City’s Rail Transit Mitigation Fund went into effect at the beginning of the month, but it will still take some time for businesses to see the money.
“Standing up programs like this that are designed to provide relief to constituents here on Oahu is sometimes a really complicated process,” said Ian Scheuring, Honolulu Communications Director.
The City said the fund is currently going through the “administrative process” to figure out logistics such as what the application is going to look like, where is it going to live on the internet, which vendor to actually handle the application process and who’s going to review.
Once the city starts taking applications, there are gonna be some rules. Among them, businesses had to have been open since 2022, make less than $750,000 a year, and have 15 or fewer employees. If eligible, businesses could get up to $10,000 a year.
“Once the rules have been finalized, the city hopes to start accepting applications for this Rail Transit Mitigation Fund sometime mid-October, late fall, possibly early November but certainly before the end of the year,” said Scheuring.
Help can’t come soon enough.
“Hopefully after all this, we can flourish like we used to,” said Ligsay. “Maybe things can go back to normal, keep the money flowing in. Yeah. I just wish the best for the future when all this is done.”
“The City is working hard to get this program stood up,” Scheuring added. “We appreciate the public’s patience. We encourage everyone who’s listening to this tonite, if there is a business along the rail line that you support, let’s make sure to get out and do that.”
If you have a news tip or question you want answered, visit KHON2’s Report It section.