Leroy N. Soetoro
2024-05-05 19:47:55 UTC
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/smallbusiness/blue-state-paradise-vacant-
nyc-storefronts-creating-havoc-nearly-double-since-pandemic/ar-AA1nmRxs
New York City's storefronts aren't as alluring as they once were. The
brutal statistics coming out are bad (but wholly predictable) news.
As of 2024, 11.2 percent of the city's storefronts are sitting vacant.
This is up from 6 percent in 2019. That doesn't seem like a huge number,
but that 5.2 percentage point increase translates to an 86% percent
increase from 2019 to 2024. That is a massive jump.
Manhattan Councilmember and Democrat Gale Brewer said these vacancies,
"are creating havoc because there is homeless, garbage and the business
next door hurts.
What's the cause of this trend? During a New York City Council Committee
on Small Business meeting on Wednesday, Calvin Brown, deputy commissioner
for neighborhood development, stated the problem was due to "archaic
zoning barriers."
New York Mayor Eric Adams has advocated for changing current zoning
regulations. Adams' initiative, the "City of Yes" aims to do just that.
According to the New York City Planning Department website, "City of Yes
for Economic Opportunity would remove outdated limitations on businesses
and ensure that local retail streets and commercial centers across the
city can remain lively places that sustain our neighborhoods."
But are zoning restrictions really the problem that's led to so many
vacancies?
The New York Post reports shoplifting cost retailers in the state $4.4
billion in 2022. Thefts have gone up 64 percent between June 2019 and June
2023. City retail thefts are up more than 6.5 percent as of April 2024
compared to April 2023.
New York City Councilmember for Queens and Republican Vickie Paladino put
it frankly. Weve got kids coming in on bicycles and just ransacking a
store." She continued, saying, We cant sugarcoat the fact that theres
rampant crime in the city that is preventing people from opening small
businesses in areas that used to be nice places to go to.
Bronx Councilmember Oswald Feliz, chair of the Committee on Small Business
and a Democrat mentioned how close to home the issue was for him. Theres
a Walgreens one minute away from where I live thats closing down due to
retail theft. Going further he stated, Anytime I speak to a small
business that is literally the very first issue they bring to us.
Paladino mentioned theft has gotten so bad that even mundane items are
locked away. "I went in to buy a tube of toothpaste. It, of course, was
locked up as everything is now. But the store manager is keeping one tube
of toothpaste behind the lock. Its insanity."
The proposed antidote to vacancies isn't exactly stellar. Brewer is in
favor of taxing landlords, suggesting owners of large retail buildings
leave their properties vacant until chain stores move in.
To summarize, vacancies, whether they be because of zoning regulations or
rampant theft are on the rise.
These vacancies create problems with homelessness and garbage piling up,
and according to Brewer the solution is a tax?
Without the government addressing homelessness, garbage, and crime,
landlords won't be able to lease to chain stores or anyone else for that
matter.
Don't forget New York's current tax system is among the worst. The Tax
Foundation's 2024 State Business Tax Climate Index found that New York
ranked 49th out of 50 in 2024 for how well its tax system is structured.
None of this had to happen. New York City didn't have to shut down peoples
businesses, storefronts, and lives because of COVID. New York City didn't
have to go soft on crime and bail. New York City didn't even have to tax
its richest citizens into fleeing the city which in turn helped reduce the
city's coffers. But New York City voters elected a government that did
just that. And now they're enjoying the fruits of their collective
electoral labor.
New Yorkers have played a stupid game, and as the old saying goes, "play
stupid games, win stupid prizes." And what prizes could be stupider than
crime-ridden neighborhoods, locked up toothpaste, and piles of garbage?
--
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.
Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.
nyc-storefronts-creating-havoc-nearly-double-since-pandemic/ar-AA1nmRxs
New York City's storefronts aren't as alluring as they once were. The
brutal statistics coming out are bad (but wholly predictable) news.
As of 2024, 11.2 percent of the city's storefronts are sitting vacant.
This is up from 6 percent in 2019. That doesn't seem like a huge number,
but that 5.2 percentage point increase translates to an 86% percent
increase from 2019 to 2024. That is a massive jump.
Manhattan Councilmember and Democrat Gale Brewer said these vacancies,
"are creating havoc because there is homeless, garbage and the business
next door hurts.
What's the cause of this trend? During a New York City Council Committee
on Small Business meeting on Wednesday, Calvin Brown, deputy commissioner
for neighborhood development, stated the problem was due to "archaic
zoning barriers."
New York Mayor Eric Adams has advocated for changing current zoning
regulations. Adams' initiative, the "City of Yes" aims to do just that.
According to the New York City Planning Department website, "City of Yes
for Economic Opportunity would remove outdated limitations on businesses
and ensure that local retail streets and commercial centers across the
city can remain lively places that sustain our neighborhoods."
But are zoning restrictions really the problem that's led to so many
vacancies?
The New York Post reports shoplifting cost retailers in the state $4.4
billion in 2022. Thefts have gone up 64 percent between June 2019 and June
2023. City retail thefts are up more than 6.5 percent as of April 2024
compared to April 2023.
New York City Councilmember for Queens and Republican Vickie Paladino put
it frankly. Weve got kids coming in on bicycles and just ransacking a
store." She continued, saying, We cant sugarcoat the fact that theres
rampant crime in the city that is preventing people from opening small
businesses in areas that used to be nice places to go to.
Bronx Councilmember Oswald Feliz, chair of the Committee on Small Business
and a Democrat mentioned how close to home the issue was for him. Theres
a Walgreens one minute away from where I live thats closing down due to
retail theft. Going further he stated, Anytime I speak to a small
business that is literally the very first issue they bring to us.
Paladino mentioned theft has gotten so bad that even mundane items are
locked away. "I went in to buy a tube of toothpaste. It, of course, was
locked up as everything is now. But the store manager is keeping one tube
of toothpaste behind the lock. Its insanity."
The proposed antidote to vacancies isn't exactly stellar. Brewer is in
favor of taxing landlords, suggesting owners of large retail buildings
leave their properties vacant until chain stores move in.
To summarize, vacancies, whether they be because of zoning regulations or
rampant theft are on the rise.
These vacancies create problems with homelessness and garbage piling up,
and according to Brewer the solution is a tax?
Without the government addressing homelessness, garbage, and crime,
landlords won't be able to lease to chain stores or anyone else for that
matter.
Don't forget New York's current tax system is among the worst. The Tax
Foundation's 2024 State Business Tax Climate Index found that New York
ranked 49th out of 50 in 2024 for how well its tax system is structured.
None of this had to happen. New York City didn't have to shut down peoples
businesses, storefronts, and lives because of COVID. New York City didn't
have to go soft on crime and bail. New York City didn't even have to tax
its richest citizens into fleeing the city which in turn helped reduce the
city's coffers. But New York City voters elected a government that did
just that. And now they're enjoying the fruits of their collective
electoral labor.
New Yorkers have played a stupid game, and as the old saying goes, "play
stupid games, win stupid prizes." And what prizes could be stupider than
crime-ridden neighborhoods, locked up toothpaste, and piles of garbage?
--
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.
Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.