One of the pillars of the President’s American Jobs Act is providing relief to small businesses. By boosting them, Obama believes that the economy will follow, and according to the U.S. Small Business Administration there might be some truth to this – small firms created 65 percent of net new jobs in the last 17 years.

This graph, categorized by firm size, depicts private-sector net job creation from 1993 - 2009. Courtesy of the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy.

Other experts argue, however, that helping small businesses isn’t a quick fix. As the Fiscal Times explains, most of them close just as quickly as they open.

Regardless of which side wins the small business debate, New Yorkers aren’t wasting time to see if Obama’s plan works, or even passes. Instead, small business owners in each of New York City’s five boroughs are creatively taking matters into their own hands:

• Bronx: Plagued with the highest unemployment rate of NYC’s five boroughs, locals are reverting to good old-fashioned brainstorming for answers. On September 13, New York State Senator Jeffrey Klein launched ThoughtRaisers, a forum for small business owners and elected officials to discuss problems and generate solutions.
• Brooklyn: To improve their workforce, four small businesses agreed to match funds doled out by Mayor Bloomberg. Believing that small businesses are critical to economic recovery, the Mayor is providing funds to train and educate the small business employees.
•  Manhattan: When Starbucks threatened to close out an independent coffee house, one small business resorted to the cheapest survival tactic possible: word of mouth. When The Bean was forced from their storefront to make way for the mega-chain, outraged customers spread the word. Now, the business plans to relocate just down the street and is confident that its loyal clientele will follow.
• Queens: Frustrated with the economic situation, the traditionally democratic ninth district in Brooklyn and Queens voted in Republic Bob Turner, a move that some see as an indicator of America’s frustration with Obama’s economic policies.
• Staten Island: Choosing not to rely on anyone else, small businesses in this borough decided to ban together in an attempt to help one another. On the same night as Obama’s jobs speech, locals launched the 3/50 campaign, an initiative encouraging shoppers to patronize the three business that they would miss most if they were forced to close.

Each of the five locations mapped out below:

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