Jackson Heights Life

There is an urgent care near the 74th and Roosevelt subway station. And one on Northern--can we really use three, I wonder?

and the Vitamin Shoppe is back in business in the front part of the space -- with a sign promising a full reopening soon.

Great!

Landlords leaving storefronts vacant in the hopes of getting top-dollar rent is a frequent topic of discussion here and seemingly a big problem in JH, so I thought this story would be of interest.

Some excerpts below; full story (worth reading) here:
https://ny.curbed.com/2018/4/2/17188918/de-blasio-retail-blight-new-york-vacancy-fee

De Blasio hints at ‘vacancy fee’ for landlords of empty storefronts

Some storefronts remain empty for months or years as landlords wait to sink high-paying tenants

 “I am very interested in fighting for a vacancy fee or a vacancy tax that would penalize landlords who leave their storefronts vacant for long periods of time in neighborhoods because they are looking for some top-dollar rent but they blight neighborhoods by doing it,” he said. “That is something we could get done through Albany.”

The mayor’s office said the initiative is in the planning phase.
...

A report released by State Senator Brad Hoylman in 2017 called “Bleaker on Bleecker” illustrates why small businesses are faltering: “Instead of renting to another independent business for a similar rent as the previous tenant, landlords will hold out for a tenant—often a large corporate chain—that is able to pay exponentially more than the previous tenant.”
...

The city doesn’t currently keep track of retail vacancies, but the City Council is considering requiring property owners with vacant commercial space to register it in an official database.

Maybe this is the kind of thing we can start getting our local representatives, both state and city, to speak up about.

I took a walk down Steinway Street in Astoria the other day.  From around Broadway to 28th Avenue I counted 29 empty storefronts.  While the landlords may be paying their taxes, there comes a point when those empty stores start to drag down other businesses.  Maybe the answer is not the proposal mentioned above, but if landlords aren't realistic with their rent demands, and a once vibrant shopping strip starts to look like a ghost town, does the city have any obligation to act?

........and pharmacies. Lots and lots of pharmacies :-)

Quote from: JK resident on April 03, 2018, 05:34:18 PM

The landlords are trying to adjust to the realities of the new economy. Amazon, Warby Parker etc. Many stores at malls are closing. Everyone goes to a regular store then checks the prices on their phone. Food, restaurants and banks seem to be the only things people need. ,

Hey, I agree with this observation.

Eventually (in say 5 years) commercial shop fronts will be worth less. (Not worthless but worth less!) It'll simply take landlords a while to adjust to that reality.

They may eventually convert shopfronts into living quarters.  Vacant apartments certainly remain in demand.

I believe this happened when NYC was losing population in the old era of the 1970's/1980's.

The spaces are probably worth too much per square foot to be turned into artists' spaces, but it's also a thought. Many other areas of the US have been dealing with empty storefronts and ghost town downtowns for years. In Pittsfield, MA back in 2001, a storefront artists project was started and was very successful, however, it was a very different situation in Pittsfield vs. NYC, as landlords actually agreed to offer the spaces for free. I can't see that ever happening here.

Here's an article about the Pittsfield project, which closed in 2011 because it was so successful (downtown was revitalized and therefore landlords could start charging for the storefronts again). https://www.mma.org/successful-artist-run-project-pittsfield-comes-end

what if they simply didn't try to triple, quadruple or quintuple the rents every time a lease is up? residential landlords who  *could* quadruple the rent of a one bedroom rarely do that.

I was trying to think of a solution to the problem of empty storefronts.  What if.........landlords charged less for rent, but then took a cut of the profits if the business was successful?  Problematic for certain, but perhaps worth a try.

That's called a Private Equity investment and unless Tony James is hosting an Obama fundraiser, I'm pretty sure the red shirts on here would loath the idea of having PE money in the neighborhood.