Official Site of The State of New Jersey

Business Enhancement Services to Resume!
After a 5 month pause, Business Enhancement Services will be resuming at the New Jersey Business Action Center. The NJBAC offers no-cost technical assistance, training, and problem-solving.  We are here to support all your Business Enhancement needs. Whether you have a one-off resource question, are looking for a strategic assessment of a district, or could use some quick visualized tactical inspiration to foster change, NJBAC can help. Contact NJBAC’s new Manager of Business Enhancement Ryan Gleason at Ryan Gleason start a conversation and move towards action!

New Business Enhancement Manager
Just a bit about myself. I am an advocate and neighborhood revitalization professional with over 10 years’ experience working with small businesses, residents, and governments to create meaningful change in communities. I served as the Director of Government Affairs for the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce and represented its over 700 business members at all levels. I served as the first Executive Director of the Downtown Denville Business Improvement District before joining the NJ DCA as a grant manager for 10 New Jersey municipalities enrolled in the Neighborhood Preservation Program. I also served as the Vice President of Community Development at Greater Bergen Community Action, overseeing client facing programs related to housing, energy insecurity, poverty, and neighborhood renewal in Bergen, Passaic, and Hudson counties.

I am so excited to begin working with communities across New Jersey to bring visible and tangible change to downtowns, commercial districts, and business corridors in need of revitalization. I had the privilege of working for and with Jef Buehler when he was the Administrator of the DCA Neighborhood Preservation Program as well as Main Street NJ and as Assistant Director at the Business Action Center. While Jef’s expertise and insight are irreplaceable, I hope to bring the same passion and quality of service to your community. Please reach out and get connected to all the resources that the BAC has to offer!

Best,
Ryan

NJBAC at the NJ League of Municipalities
NJBAC will once again have a presence at the New Jersey League of Municipalities Annual Conference this year! Stop by our table or contact the BAC office to schedule a meeting while down in Atlantic City! 

Featured Grants & Support
Coming Soon! NJ LEAF (New Jersey Lending for Equity, Access, and Financing Program)
The NJ LEAF pilot loan provides flexible lending options for both fixed assets and working capital, helping licensed recreational cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, and testing laboratories grow and stabilize their operations in New Jersey.

NJEDA Main Street Acquisition Support Grant
The Main Street Acquisition Support Grant is a pilot product under the Main Street Recovery Fund that will offer a grant of up to $50,000 to reimburse an eligible NJ small business for closing costs related to a New Jersey commercial property that the business purchased to operate from.

Downtown New Jersey Annual Conference Recap
Downtown NJ recently hosted their 2025 Annual Conference in Downtown Flemington. Click the link to a short video recapping the event and their theme: Street Level Magic. Downtown NJ is a non-profit resource dedicated to ensuring the vitality of New Jersey’s downtowns. 

Pedestrian Safety Solutions and How We Talk About Incidents
Smart Grown America recently published this piece highlighting the time and science tested solutions for preventing pedestrian injury and death on our streets. In addition to great best practices, the article also emphasizes how media coverage and how we talk about pedestrian incidents can affect positive implementations and action. Definitely worth a read. 

Looking to Learn All About How NJBAC Can Work With Your Businesses?
We are here for your communities’ and districts’ businesses. NJBAC offers free online chat and telephone (800-537-7397) assistance in English and Spanish to any business in NJ – any size, any location, and any type. Our team can advocate for businesses, concierge them to funding and technical solutions, help them find locations for growth or developing export markets, guide them to navigating the commercial cannabis sector, and much more. Want to set something up online or on-site for your businesses? Reach out to NJBAC Business Enhancement Manager Ryan Gleason at Ryan Gleason to get plugged in to all of our business success services.

Thank you for reading!

Ryan

P.S. We will be sending out these Business Enhancement Connection emails typically one or two times each month. If there is a topic you’d like us to address, please tell us. If you’d rather not receive these emails, let us know and we will remove you from our list.

Ryan Gleason
Manager, Office of Business Enhancement
NJ Business Action Center 
Ryan.Gleason@sos.nj.gov 
609.633.6942