Astoria, LIC Lost Chain Stores In 2022, New Report Finds

ASTORIA, QUEENS — The past two years have been tough for Western Queens's small businesses — and even chain stores are still struggling, according to a new report.

The "State of the Chains" report, released Wednesday by the Center for an Urban Future for the 15th year, studied the number of national chain retailers opening and closing across the five boroughs in 2022.

It found that the number of chain stores inched up slightly over last year, rising by 0.3 percent — a fraction of last year's bigger jump of 2.7 percent. The number of chain stores is still well below pre-pandemic levels, with 782 fewer such shops than there were in late 2019.

In Astoria and Long Island City, the number of chain locations has dropped in both neighborhoods since last year, the report found — with a combined total of 178 now compared to 181 last year. (In pre-pandemic 2019, that total stood at 187.)

Here's the breakdown for each ZIP:

• 11101 (Long Island City): 56 chain locations in 2022 (57 in 2021)
• 11102 (Astoria): 11 chain locations in 2022 (12 in 2021)
• 11103 (Astoria): 50 chain locations in 2022 (53 in 2021)
• 11105 (Astoria): 29 chain locations in 2022 (27 in 2021)
• 11106 (Long Island City/Astoria): 32 chain locations in 2022 (32 in 2021)

Despite those trends, both neighborhoods still rank within the top 10 in Queens for number of chain stores — Long Island City's 11101 ZIP code ranks seventh, with 56 locations, while Astoria's 11101 places ninth with 50. (The top ZIP code citywide is Elmhurst's 11373, home to the Queens Center Mall, with 128 stores.)

Manhattan's chains have been hit hardest since 2020 given the rise of remote work and declines in office occupancy, the report found. But Queens, too, has suffered, with 6.8 percent fewer chain stores than in 2019.

The rise of online shopping has also played a role in killing off chains citywide — the sectors with the biggest declines this year were all merchandisers, like electronics, games and toys, beauty salons, and pet supplies, according to the study.

Duane Reade — whose parent company Walgreens shuttered an Astoria pharmacy this year — closed more stores than any other chain citywide, with 22 locations total.

As for the national chain with the most locations in the city: that honor falls once again to Dunkin' Donuts, which added five locations this year to reach a total of 620. (That's still less than its pre-pandemic total of 636.)

Starbucks, with 316 locations, placed second — its highest ranking in the 15-year history of the State of the Chains study.

Read the full 2022 "State of the Chains" report here.