March 28, 2017. In an article featured in the Billy Penn, the author discusses how Philadelphia’s Mayor, Jim Kenney, quoted an immigrant business statistic from the 2015 Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce report that cited FPI’s report, “Bringing Vitality to Main Street: How Immigrant Small Businesses Help Local Economies Grow.” The fact-sheet misinterpreted FPI and Americas Society/Council‘s statistic which referred to Main Street Businesses, not all business ownership.
The fact-sheet cited a 2015 Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce report, which itself was referencing analysis produced by the Fiscal Policy Institute: immigrant business owners accounted for 96 percent of Main Street business growth in the city from 2000 to 2013.
What are Main Street establishments, exactly? The research, which was co-produced by the Americas Society/Council of the Americas, uses it as an umbrella term for the following categories of businesses: “neighborhood services,” like salons and laundromats; “accommodation and food services,” like taverns, restaurants, but also inns; “retail” including a wide range of shops.
After PolitiFact PA contacted representatives for the mayor, Kenney retweeted his earlier message with a new note that the figure was referring to Main Streets specifically.
Here’s the link to Billy Penn.