PHOTOS: With 5 days to reopen, is Manhattan ready?

The city’s prime retail corridors were largely empty Wednesday, with the exception of workers boarding up storefronts


Three months ago, Manhattan’s prime corridors were packed with shoppers, tourists and passersby. Covid-19 changed all that — and then came looters. On Wednesday afternoon, those same streets were largely empty with the exception of workers boarding up shop windows.

Looting, vandalism and violence broke out across the city amid protests over the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

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Prominent New York City retail spaces — including the Macy’s flagship store and Fifth Avenue retail corridor — were hit by widespread looting on Monday night. (Getty)
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Macy’s, 5th Ave retail ransacked by looters on NYC’s first night of curfew

Iconic stores, including Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue and Macy’s at Herald Square, have been struck, along with smaller luxury shops in Soho. The worst of the looting occurred on Monday evening, after the 11 p.m. curfew — the first such restriction in 75 years.

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Mayor Bill de Blasio bumped up the curfew to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, deployed more police and largely banned vehicles below 96th Street, which curbed the mayhem.

With the first phase of New York City’s reopening set for June 8, many retailers had planned to reopen with curbside pickup. Instead, on Wednesday morning workers boarded up more shops.

Check out the slideshow above to see what some of Manhattan’s prime retail corridors looked like following several nights of lawbreaking.

Photos by Paul Dilakian

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