With hurricane season at its peak, city officials want all business owners to have an emergency response plan. They say the devastation caused by Sandy shows businesses must be prepared. NY1's Jeanine Ramirez reports from Coney Island.  

A sign on the Coney Island branch of the Brooklyn Public Library marks just how high the waters rose when Superstorm Sandy smashed ashore. All of Mermaid Avenue was inundated. When the waters receded, the owner of City Wide Income Tax documented how the flooding ravaged his storefront office.

"It's amazing what saltwater, not just water, but what the saltwater can do, you would never imagine until you see it with your own eyes," said business owner Dominic Concilio.

To bring his company back, Concilio needed help.

"NYC Small Business Services were the first to offer to help businesses," he said. "And they were even faster than FEMA, believe it or not. They really were. And within less than 30 days, they loaned me $25,000 to get everything up and running." 

SBS said lending money at a low interest rate is just one of the many disaster recovery services it offers. 

"Especially during hurricane season, disaster can happen at any time, and it doesn't have to be a water event. It could be power. It could be fire. It could be anything," said Gregg Bishop, commissioner of the city's Department of Small Business Services.

To encourage businesses to have an emergency plan, the agency offers free evaluations of their sites and grants to help them prepare for the worst. 

"We offer staff that will come out to their business, actually do an evaluation of their risk profile and they will be eligible of a grant of up to $3,000 to address those risks," Bishop said. 

Concilio got his business evaluated.

"He gave me a list a mile long of stuff that I could purchase that I would get reimbursed $3,000 for," Concilio said. "I'm in the process of doing that now. I'm upgrading the server, increase more hard drive space, increase more memory and increase more backup." 

On its website, the SBS also has a checklist to help business owners prepare for disasters.

After Sandy, Concilio offers this advice:

"To believe the worst can happen," he said.

For more information, go to nyc.gov/businessprep.