Storefronts empty on Upper East Side as major retailers move elsewhere
NEW YORK -- You may have noticed many empty storefronts on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
A number of big box stores closed their doors for good following the pandemic, and the once bustling shopping area is no longer.
CBS2's Elijah Westbrook spoke with a business expert about what this means for the future.
Video shows what 59th Street and Lexington Avenue look like these days -- retail space after retail space now on the market after places like H&M, Gap and Zara, to name a few, closed their doors in the neighborhood. For months now, some say it has been a retail wasteland.
"What it says most to me is that there's been a real change in foot traffic and consumer traffic, just in general," said Ben Johnston, COO of Kapitus.
To understand the driving forces behind so many of these closures, Westbrook spoke with the chief operating officer for Kapitus, a financing company for small and medium sized businesses in the U.S.
"New work schedules post-pandemic have really changed how people are coming into the city, what they're coming in for, and what they might buy while they're there," Johnston said.
Earlier this year, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released an alarming report that revealed Manhattan lost more than 5,000 private businesses during the pandemic.
The report also showed Brooklyn managed to gain more than 1,200 storefronts, the Bronx added more than 100 and Staten Island picked up eight. Queens, on the other hand, lost nearly 160.
On the Upper West Side, Johnston said he can't speak to why each store that was once there has now closed, but he pointed to a growing demand for online shopping and the aftermath of the pandemic as two big reasons.
Johnston also said he doesn't expect the retail landscape in the neighborhood to completely change, but said whoever ends up taking over these empty spaces will most likely have to cater to a different consumer.