Empty Storefronts Menace The “City of Yes”

As soon as 203 West 22nd Street mounted a “For Sale” sign at the property, two homeless men—both neighborhood regulars— swiftly took up residence, that very next day. In this case, their new address didn’t last long, because the realtor and/or property owner are still actively out and about showing the space to potential buyers.

Over at 201 West 22nd Street, it’s a different story, one that has been told time and again. This notoriously abandoned tragedy of a building has bafflingly remained vacant for decades.

But this issue isn’t specific to 22nd Street, or Chelsea. Quite the contrary. If an address become unoccupied, it is almost immediately repopulated by those who have no place else better to go.

The homeless situation in New York City is nothing new. It’s nothing that is easily remedied or immediately solvable. However, the ubiquity of unattended properties seems to facilitate the problem, at least to the naked eye.

The pandemic hit Eighth Avenue particularly hard, and it is only just now rebounding with new commercial activity. Throughout the shutdown, the homelessness problem skyrocketed, accompanied by the crime and grime that are so often its tragic bedfellows. It’s as if the depravity of Port Authority had finally made a case for the trickle-down theory actually working, in its worst-case scenario.

Perhaps, the argument sounds somewhat NIMBY; perhaps it is. Displacing the unhoused from any particular address doesn’t necessarily put them in a better situation. But if an abandoned storefront avails itself to someone who doesn’t know of any other options, even just the shelter of an awning and the protection of one solid wall might seem better than nothing. If those “amenities” didn’t exist, it is possible an individual might be more amenable to accepting shelter via outreach programs or charitable organizations.

Digging deeper, it would also appear that the fundamental issue, like so very many others, is rooted in the egregiously high rents that landlords and property owners have become accustomed to charging. They are more than happy to have their lots fester vacant for weeks, months... sometimes years, until they can secure the most lucrative lease possible. Just because they have the financial wherewithal to hold out for such doesn’t mean they should be able to. And precisely because they already have such deep pockets, they should be penalized for letting a property stagnate unoccupied.

It would appear Mayor Eric Adams is on board with this perspective, with his “City of Yes” campaign, which according to the Office of the Mayor’s website, has a goal of “bolstering NYC’s economy. It would amend zoning laws to allow for more diverse businesses to occupy existing spaces, reducing vacancies and supporting small business growth.

Incentivizing landlords into maintaining a viable business within their properties would seem a vital component to this initiative. Eyes and ears on the neighborhood can be promptly address issues as soon as the arise, even combatting graffiti and refuse accumulation. Broken windows might have its caveats, but it is statistcally and inarguably proven that maintaining the safety and cleanliness of a property will promulgate more of the same. As a city, those two attributes have been severely lacking, and without them, quality of life will cannot hope to improve.