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NEW YORK, NY February 06, 2007 —Opening up a business in New York City is no easy feat and, according to a report by a local think tank, foreign-born New Yorkers are taking on the challenge at a faster rate than those born here. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports:

REPORTER: Food manufacturing, the jewelry trade, and construction are just some of the industries immigrants are getting involved in. The Center for an Urban Future that authored the study says in 2000, 49 percent of all self-employed workers in the city were immigrants. Olga Lopez Djam is originally from Colombia. She owns an insurance firm in Elmhurst, Queens and says many of her customers are immigrants too:

DJAM: most of them would like to come to my office and oh don' t worry you take care of it yeah but i want you to understand this. Just take a minute and let me explain what insurance is about.

REPORTER: Now she says she writes policies for their children. The business has been around for several years. But not all are as successful. Syed Chowdhury opened up a clothing store in Jackson Heights six months ago and says business is slow:

CHOWDHURY: I cannot cover my expenses right now I just take it out of my pocket and pay.

Chowdhury complains that his 35-hundred dollar rent is too high. While high rents affect all small business owners, the report says immigrants are harder hit because they have less access to capital. It recommends the city do more outreach to immigrant business owners. For WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez.