Despite the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing spread of the COVID-19 delta variant, certain opportunistic retailers in New York City have been able to take advantage of tenant-favorable market conditions, successfully negotiating free rent, flexibility on term length and percentage-rent deal structures, and other previously unthinkable extras.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has turned New York City’s commercial retail landscape on its side, the city’s small businesses have faced an exceptionally challenging 2021 thus far. International visitor traffic is almost nonexistent, domestic tourism is lagging behind pre-pandemic numbers, and the majority of office workers have yet to return to the workplace. In light of New York City’s famously high rents and operating costs, small-business owners have always faced an uphill climb toward profitability, but the pandemic has likely forever changed the retail landscape.
Photo by Rachel Claire from Pexels
