NYC still suffers from innumerable retail vacancies

Despite rosy reports, empty shops often mar the city’s streetscape

From left: the intersection of Third Avenue and East 61st Street facing north and an empty Manhattan storefront
From left: the intersection of Third Avenue and East 61st Street facing north and an empty Manhattan storefront

WEEKENDEDITION Despite being one of the wealthiest places in the nation and a shopping mecca for millions of tourists, Manhattan still has more vacant retail space than anyone can count. 

One of Manhattan’s worst retail deserts is the corner of Third Avenue and East 61st Street, according to the New York Post. At the intersection, which is just one block north of Bloomingdales, three of four corner stores are empty.

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“It’s Bloomies country, but for some reason the blocks to the north have always been challenging,” Douglas Elliman retail leasing broker Faith Consolo told the Post.

Moreover, women’s apparel purveyor Coldwater Creek will soon close the doors to its store on nearly a full block at Third Avenue and East 68th Street, adding a massive vacancy to the area. [NYP] Christopher Cameron