In re lowman

*1283“When a claimant closes an operating business, the issue of whether he or she is qualified to receive benefits turns upon whether there was a compelling reason to close the business” (Matter of Pitic [Commissioner of Labor], 249 AD2d 671, 671 [1998]; accord Matter of Rosen [Commissioner of Labor], 9 AD3d 775, 775-776 [2004]; see Matter of Crawford [Hudacs], 182 AD2d 1047, 1048 [1992]). Although the business’s tax returns showed “paper loses” during the last three years of operation, gross receipts and expenses remained steady during that period and there is no indication that the business was…