NYC Planning Dept report on declining vacancy rates for storefronts

This report from DCP, the fourth of its kind, provides detailed information on the health
of NYC’s commercial retail corridors.

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted New York City’s economy and forced
many storefront businesses to adapt overnight. More than four years
later, some neighborhoods have recovered while others face lingering
effects from the pandemic. The rise of remote and hybrid work has
transformed the economic landscape of New York’s neighborhoods
and its storefront businesses.
Strong retail corridors are a pillar of neighborhood planning. The NYC
Department of City Planning (DCP) has previously undertaken studies
of storefront vacancy in 2009, 2019 and 2020, utilizing field research to
portray a snapshot of conditions along select corridors. This report
builds on past assessments and introduces new research utilizing the
first comprehensive citywide storefront dataset to track vacancy and
storefront composition trends over time for every storefront in each
neighborhood across all five boroughs.
This analysis is intended to support the multitude of public and private
actors, from individual businesses, property owners, brokers, civic
groups, chambers of commerce, business improvement districts, and
City agencies, who work to make New York City’s commercial streets
the most vibrant and diverse on the planet.