New York Doubles Down on Tracking Empty Storefront Problem
An empty store stands along a block in the West Village in New York City.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Take a stroll down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, one of the most famous shopping thoroughfares in the world, and you’ll find the emptiness hard to ignore.
New York’s vacant storefront epidemic doesn’t end there: Walk one block east to Madison Avenue, and nearly 30% of all shops are available for rent, according to a report by brokerage Cushman & Wakefield.