“I was checking my email for the SBA Loan status and then it said, you’ll get your funds in three days and my wife and I were just ecstatic,” said Marty Krutolow, Owner, Marty’s V Burger.

Marty Krutlolow, owner of Marty’s V Burger, a vegan restaurant on East 27th Street is feeling lot more optimistic these days.

So is James Chen, owner of Blink Marketing in downtown Flushing.

“This is the first time I ever got anything from the state, federal government or anywhere. So I’m very, very surprised and very happy!” said James Chen, Owner of Blink Marketing.

Their businesses were granted no-interest loans in the second round of approvals under the new Paycheck Protection Program.

When we spoke to both men last month, they were frustrated and disappointed; both of their businesses had been shut out of the initial round of funding, while many large companies got tens of millions of dollars.

The forgivable loan program allows small businesses to cover up to eight weeks of payroll costs, mortgage interest and other expenses with the money.

Krutolow and Chen believe the controversy associated with the previous round, worked to their advantage when it came to securing funds for the second round of funding, which included $310 billion dollars in new money for small businesses.

Their good fortune appears to be part of a broader trend.

Chen, who is also board member on the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce, says he’s aware of at least 12 nearby businesses that also have secured funding.

Encouraging signs also emerging from Brooklyn, its Chamber of Commerce tells me that many of its businesses finally secured PPP funding, after 84 percent of them were shut out in the first round of loans

Officials with the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce tell a similar story.

Hopeful signs for small businesses that have been desperate for good news, as the pandemic rages on.