Surge of restaurants played role in New York City's storefront revival, study says
NEW YORK (WABC) -- A surge of restaurants -- led by Mexican, Japanese and Caribbean kitchens, most of them outside Manhattan -- have played a big role in the city's storefront revival, according to a study released by the Department of City Planning.
About 16,000 of the city's 143,000 storefronts were empty in the third quarter of this year, for a vacancy rate of just above 11%.
The share of empty stores has fallen citywide for four straight quarters.
"When we finally decided to branch out, when we were looking for our fourth location, Brooklyn was our next destination," said Amelie Kang with Mala Project.
And Kang found a spot for Mala Project in Greenpoint last year, where she's now serving up Sichuan-style food.
And since she opened, 57 other new restaurants have also opened in Greenpoint, the most for any New York City neighborhood, according to the study.
"Greenpoint really had that charm of a neighborhood area, and that's the rent, when we found this place, it was quite affordable," Kang said.
In fact, according to the same study, more than 70% of neighborhoods citywide have seen an uptick in food and drink businesses.
Experts think it's a promising sign.
"Here was the pandemic, there was remote work and there was e-commerce and, you know, those three trends really kind of threatened to really put a damper on retail for a while, it's come back so strong so quickly," said Jonathan Bowles with Center for an Urban Future.
Bowles is the executive director of the Center for an Urban Future, a public policy think tank, and he says the way the city is coming back reflects life post pandemic.
"I think it's definitely a signal that remote work people are working from home and they're spending a lot more time and money near where they live, you know, and in local restaurants and other shops are benefiting big time," Bowles said.
The vacancy rate citywide is just above 11%, which is still higher than before the pandemic. But the share of empty stores has fallen citywide for four straight quarters, with the outer boroughs being a big draw.
"So people are sticking with their local neighborhoods," Kang said. "I do see that a little bit more. Plus, there are just more cool neighborhoods popping up all over Brooklyn as well."
ALSO READ: Neighborhood Eats: See No Evil Pizza, a subway stop pizza shop, tantalizes taste buds
----------
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
