11 LI public companies snagged $36 million in PPP loans: SEC records

Eleven public companies on Long Island have secured Paycheck Protection Program loans totaling more than $36 million and sustaining the salaries of about 2,200 workers, according to a Newsday review of securities filings.
Some of the companies are still operating because they make essential products such as coronavirus diagnostic tests, scientific equipment and components for military aircraft. Forty-five percent made money last year and 55% did not.
The group’s PPP loans averaged $3.3 million. That's more than 13 times the average of $250,949 for 81,075 loans awarded in New York State as of April 16, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. The agency couldn't provide data for Long Island.
The disparity between the loan amounts for public companies and small Main Street businesses has sparked criticism in Nassau and Suffolk counties and across the country.
"You have all of these large companies that got millions of dollars in loans, but this [the coronavirus business shutdown] isn't going to lead them to go out of business," said Bob Waldeck, president of RATCO Inc., a Holbrook manufacturer of replacement frames for vintage Triumph sports cars. "For little guys, like us, it's very likely that six months from now we won't be around. And the PPP and other loan programs were meant to prevent small businesses from going under. It's very frustrating," he said.