Yesterday, the City Council reviewed two pieces of legislation submitted by City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal (D-Central Park, Lincoln Square), both written to establish citywide tracking of commercial storefront statuses.
The first bill, Int 1472, provides for the creation of an online database of every commercial storefront in the City. Each storefront would have its location, size, status and monthly rent, among other details, listed. The second bill, 1473, mandates that the City create an “empty storefront registry” that would require property owners to register storefronts that are left empty for more than 90 days. Those who failed to comply would be fined.
Rosenthal said that storefront businesses are an integral part of New York’s economy – making it all the more concerning that empty storefronts are such a common sight nowadays. A survey conducted by the retail company Douglas Elliman in 2018 found that 20 percent of Manhattan’s storefronts were vacant, as reported by The Real Deal.
“Whether it’s our five Chinatowns, or the hundreds of Caribbean-owned businesses in Flatbush, or the South American restaurants and businesses of Elmhurst — these businesses are key to the ability to start a new life and eventually enter the middle class,” said Rosenthal. “But this is under threat. Losing this economic ladder limits opportunity, and contributes to New York City’s growing economic inequality.”
Rosenthal elaborated that the two bills presented yesterday represent one facet of what she called a “multi-pronged approach” to making our city more habitable for storefront businesses. She brought up a piece of legislation she had signed into law two years ago, which reduced commercial rent taxes for small businesses.
“The next step is a detailed audit of commercial storefronts across the city — this is where solutions will come from,” said Rosenthal. “Today, thanks to Speaker Corey Johnson and this Council, we are hearing a package of bills to further support our local retail stores.”
Armando Moritz-Chapelliquen, Senior Economic Development Organizer with the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD), commended Rosenthal for introducing the legislation, claiming that it fills a much-needed niche in the City.
“While communities across the city recognize the negative impact of vacant storefronts on the vitality of our neighborhoods, there is no citywide information on commercial vacancies,” said Moritz-Chapelliquen. “Council Member Rosenthal’s Intro 1473 addresses this significant data gap by establishing a commercial vacancy registry with a penalty for failure to register.”
