[guest post by Dana]

On Fisher Island, the ultra-exclusive, members-only enclave off the coast of Miami, where the average income of the island’s residents is $2.2 million, and the median home value is $3 million, the Fisher Island Homeowners Association applied for a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was designed to help small businesses cover payroll costs and benefits during the COVID-19 crisis:

The homeowners’ association for Fisher Island…that recently bought enough COVID-19 antibody tests for all of its residents and employees, applied for a loan through the federal government’s massive stimulus program to bail out small businesses.

During its 5 p.m. scheduled meeting Wednesday, according to an agenda obtained by the Miami Herald, the association’s board of directors will vote on whether to accept a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program, which is designed to help business owners pay their employees and weather the economic turmoil brought on by the novel coronavirus.

The agenda said the board would discuss and vote on approving the application and the execution of loan documents with Regions Bank.

It wasn’t immediately clear Tuesday why the Fisher Island Community Association — the master homeowners’ group for the wealthiest ZIP code in the United States — would need the loan, nor how much money the association sought.

Meanwhile, no employees on the island have been laid off:

Ana Tinsley, a spokeswoman for the union that represents 130 of the island’s workers, told the Herald that no one has been laid off and employees have been granted extra days of paid time off. “Honestly, no complaints,” she reportedly said.

With regard to the federal loans, Florida is doing better than other states:

Florida has fared relatively better than most states, hauling in 52,021 loans worth about $12.7 billion of the initial earmark, according to figures released this week by the SBA. That is third-most in both categories. A state-level industry breakdown is not yet available.

Among banks that lent out locally was First National Bank of South Miami, which said it had kept nearly 6,000 employees on payrolls thanks to $63.2 million in funded PPP loans. Flores said her team has worked 18-hour days for 27 days, and through weekends.

“With the funding depleted we are distraught and very depressed,” she said in an email. “There are so many more businesses that need assistance. It is a real shame that politics is getting in the way of providing additional funding immediately for this program for small businesses…These are very tough conversations with the many business clients that we could not assist.”

Still, many local businesses find themselves in limbo. Cristian Alvarez had been waiting more than a week to hear from his bank about whether he and his brother had been approved for an SBA loan for their Little Haiti Argentine restaurant, Fiorito.

Thursday morning, he read that all the funds had been depleted. He still has not heard from his bank. ”We’ve lost hope of getting any help,” he said. “If it arrives, it arrives.”

His restaurant of 25 employees is now down to five, including him and his brother. He has been hiring his former employees for an occasional shift of 6-8 hours, “just to put some money in their pockets. He’s behind $10,000 on his rent and is working with his landlord to delay or reduce that.

“The idea now is just to survive,” he said.

–Dana