Retail hell, NYC

[Core Shot]

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...gtype=Homepage


head of retail leasing for Douglas Elliman Real Estate, who said the increase in storefront vacancies in New York City had created “the most challenging retail landscape in my 25 years in real estate.”

A survey conducted by Douglas Elliman found that about 20 percent of all retail space in Manhattan is currently vacant, she said, compared with roughly 7 percent in 2016.

[dunfree]

turned the city into a mall, and what's happening with malls now? 20% of the crappy ones are going under.

[The Tortoise]

Amazon happened to the malls.

[Buster Highmen]

But, but, the economeeeeeee!

[ex-powderbroker]

this all started with ghouliani. he changed the law that prohibited chains from operating within a few blocks from each other and the. every landlord decided they’d rather wait for a starbucks or duane reade than re-sign a lease with a mom and pop. they need to tax the landlords for every month there’s a vacancy until we get all the cool record stores back.

[Thurgood Jenkins]

...about 20 percent of all retail space in Manhattan is currently vacant...

People are figuring out cities suck for living. Second, Amazon is killing local business as people short change their communities to save a few bucks online.

[Benny Profane]

People are figuring out cities suck for living.

Yeah, tell that to the people paying a million bucks for a studio in Manhattan. Really sucks for them.

[Benny Profane]

Just remembered that, when the staff of the Onion moved from Madison, Wisconsin to Manhattan way back, an interviewer asked the main dude what was the defining feature of living and working in NYC, and he said, you can have anything delivered. Anything. Which is true, and that was some time ago, pre Uber. So, why stores, right?

[Tippster]

Lower the rents. No longer a problem.

[Obstruction]

Lower the rents. No longer a problem.

[gravitylover]

this all started with ghouliani. he changed the law that prohibited chains from operating within a few blocks from each other and the. every landlord decided they’d rather wait for a starbucks or duane reade than re-sign a lease with a mom and pop. they need to tax the landlords for every month there’s a vacancy until we get all the cool record stores back.

There's another aspect to this that most people don't know about. Empty retail spaces receive a property tax break so for many of the owners it's a great write off. Most of them need the write off so they boost the rent to an unsustainable level to keep renters away. All they're really paying to maintain the equity in the property is minimal insurance on the empty space.

Lower the rents. No longer a problem.

The store I helped manage for 10 years is going away this month because the rent is nearly doubling from ~$50k/mo. It's been there since 1978 and for a while we were approaching $6mil/yr in sales. The last few years, since I've been gone, it has dropped to the point where the rent and employee carrying costs would have to go back to where they were in 1999 for the business to stay viable. Yeah the owners kids ran it into the ground

[ncskier]

As someone who flies to NYC for work, I've noticed over the past 15 years or so, that Manhattan is being stripped of its character one building at a time and for the most part, there is no reason to "go shopping" in the big city. The whole place is filled with the same chains that can be found anywhere in america with a middling population. I mean how many coach stores can one city block support. Not to mention amazon. Seems like comic shops, record stores, delis/diners, electronic stores etc. are all gone. Instead in starbucks, coach, burberry, apple stores etc.

[spanky]

There's another aspect to this that most people don't know about. Empty retail spaces receive a property tax break so for many of the owners it's a great write off. Most of them need the write off so they boost the rent to an unsustainable level to keep renters away. All they're really paying to maintain the equity in the property is minimal insurance on the empty space.



The store I helped manage for 10 years is going away this month because the rent is nearly doubling from ~$50k/mo. It's been there since 1978 and for a while we were approaching $6mil/yr in sales. The last few years, since I've been gone, it has dropped to the point where the rent and employee carrying costs would have to go back to where they were in 1999 for the business to stay viable. Yeah the owners kids ran it into the ground

Ugh, really?!?!? Well, I see it’s real as I searched for it. Man, that sucks.

[FLS]

As someone who flies to NYC for work, I've noticed over the past 15 years or so, that Manhattan is being stripped of its character one building at a time and for the most part, there is no reason to "go shopping" in the big city. The whole place is filled with the same chains that can be found anywhere in america with a middling population. I mean how many coach stores can one city block support. Not to mention amazon. Seems like comic shops, record stores, delis/diners, electronic stores etc. are all gone. Instead in starbucks, coach, burberry, apple stores etc.

^This (sucks)

[plugboots]

^This (sucks)

I came to post the same thing. I travelled a lot for work, and Indianapolis, Kansas City, Cincinnati, etc. were like that, fake “town squares” with the same shitty franchises. Oh well, things change.

[SumJongGuy]

Lower the rents. No longer a problem.

Turn the retail space in to apartments. i.e. build what people are spending money on instead of trying to save The Shop Around the Corner that nobody wants to pay a premium for or spend time in anymore..

I spent the 90s in retail managing high end luggage and leather goods stores. I get the whole geffin goods strategy and the importance of great customer service. However, most customers don't anymore. They'd rather do their own research online, buy the products with a couple clicks to have them shipped to their door instead of wasting 2 hours to drive to and from brick and morter dealing with other humans.....


AND MOUNT THEIR OWN FUCKING SKIS!

[huckbucket]

As someone who flies to NYC for work, I've noticed over the past 15 years or so, that Manhattan is being stripped of its character one building at a time and for the most part, there is no reason to "go shopping" in the big city. The whole place is filled with the same chains that can be found anywhere in america with a middling population. I mean how many coach stores can one city block support. Not to mention amazon. Seems like comic shops, record stores, delis/diners, electronic stores etc. are all gone. Instead in starbucks, coach, burberry, apple stores etc.

Shit, why limit ourselves to cities?

Italy Defied Starbucks—Until It Didn’t
https://www.theatlantic.com/internat...rbucks/569695/

[SirHeady]

As someone who flies to NYC for work, I've noticed over the past 15 years or so, that Manhattan is being stripped of its character one building at a time and for the most part, there is no reason to "go shopping" in the big city. The whole place is filled with the same chains that can be found anywhere in america with a middling population. I mean how many coach stores can one city block support. Not to mention amazon. Seems like comic shops, record stores, delis/diners, electronic stores etc. are all gone. Instead in starbucks, coach, burberry, apple stores etc.

Maybe in MidTown, but not the case on UES. Gf's apartment is within 5 minutes of the dankest ZA, a Surefoot, Vineyard Vines , Barbour Retail Store, Pastrami Queen, and a host of very solid restaurants/bars.

It still blows every other city away I have resided in (ATL, Savannah, SLC) in terms of walkability and options

[FLS]

[stuckathuntermtn]

As someone who flies to NYC for work, I've noticed over the past 15 years or so, that Manhattan is being stripped of its character one building at a time and for the most part, there is no reason to "go shopping" in the big city. The whole place is filled with the same chains that can be found anywhere in america with a middling population. I mean how many coach stores can one city block support. Not to mention amazon. Seems like comic shops, record stores, delis/diners, electronic stores etc. are all gone. Instead in starbucks, coach, burberry, apple stores etc.

Yup. Same shit happening in San Francisco and I'm sure many other cities. A Whole Foods in Haight Ashberry at the entrance to Golden Gate Park? Fuck! That's where the drug dealers are supposed to be! Well, it is yuppy crack.

If they're vacancy rate is that high, maybe they'll lower the rent?


Rent Too Damn High Party know what I mean.

[Benny Profane]

Shit, why limit ourselves to cities?

Italy Defied Starbucks—Until It Didn’t
https://www.theatlantic.com/internat...rbucks/569695/

This bit of wacky Italian Illogical thinking caught my eye:

"At the Milan Roastery, an espresso will cost 1.80 euros “sitting or standing,” Corriere della Sera noted, since in Italian coffee shops, the price changes depending on whether you have table service or gulp your drink down at the bar. A cappuccino will cost as much as 4.50 euros. This has already prompted Italy’s consumer association to file a complaint with Italy’s antitrust authority, saying the prices were far above average for Milan. Online, Italians are already complaining that Starbucks could drive up prices elsewhere in Italy."

So, only in Italy (well, probably France, too) will people complain that someone is trying to corner a market by charging more than the competition.

[splat]

If the NY state legislators hadn't dodged the vote on legalization of weed and just made it so, those empty storefronts would now be bustling with stoners and med users getting supplies.

[fastfred]

https://nypost.com/2018/09/11/this-m...-porn-palaces/

[Dexter Rutecki]

Maybe in MidTown, but not the case on UES. Gf's apartment is within 5 minutes of the dankest ZA, a Surefoot, Vineyard Vines , Barbour Retail Store, Pastrami Queen, and a host of very solid restaurants/bars.

So she lives on...77th street. (Obviously five minutes means it could be anywhere from 72-80, probably, but she must be right around there.)

But except for the pizza place (which one?) and Pastrami Queen, you are kind of making his point for him. You listed three places that could just easily be found in a mall in some suburb.

It still blows every other city away I have resided in (ATL, Savannah, SLC) in terms of walkability and options

It always has and probably always will. Other places have little pockets where things are kind of like NYC, but obviously nothing else really compares, which a lot of people seem to not understand for some reason.

But the retail vacancy thing is real, and has been a real thing for the last 10-15 years. A little worse now, probably, but it kind of sucks when so much disappears--and sometimes it affects entire blocks, or entire blocks with the exception of one little place. Really not cool to see a whole block dark at night because all the stores had to flee 100% rent increases.

[SumJongGuy]

How are delis and pizza places doing in Manhattan these days? Is charging three times what you'd pay for a similar sandwich/slice and drink out in Suffolk County still working well for them with plenty of vendors doing well with that? I can remember trying to kid myself in to believing the downtown places were almost that much better but it's pretty much a captive customer and seller price fixing scenario down there.. justified by much higher overhead costs of course..