Small Businesses Thriving in Landmarked Areas

Andrew Berman, executive director, Village Preservation, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

NEW YORK CITY—There’s been much concern about the challenging retail environment in New York right now, and much debate about the causes. Spiraling retail vacancy rates and the closure of beloved businesses have led to finger pointing at landlord greed, e-commerce, overzealous rules enforcement, and even landmarking, which some claim puts small businesses “in a bureaucratic straight-jacket.”  But in fact, a first-of-its-kind study we recently released indicates that landmarking not only does not hurt the retail environment for small businesses, it might even help them.

Working with the Cooper Square Committee and the East Village Community Coalition, Village Preservation recently did an analysis of a survey of every storefront in the East Village—from 14th to Houston Street, the Bowery and 4th Avenue to Avenue D. Like many neighborhoods, the East Village has had a disturbing rise in retail vacancies, with many longtime businesses shuttering and storefronts sometimes remaining empty for months or even years.