New Data Shows Scope Of Upper West Side Vacancy Crisis

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Upper West Siders have long known that vacant storefronts blighted the neighborhood. Now, data reveals just how severe the trend has become.

The new data shows the lease status of every ground-floor and second-floor commercial space in the five boroughs. The database was created to comply with a 2019 law that required landlords to register their retail spaces — part of a push by the City Council to get a handle on vacancies.

After being delayed by the pandemic, the long-awaited database was published this month. Though the most recent data is from June 2020, it still provides a snapshot of the city's vacancies.

Almost 200 Vacancies In 3 ZIP Codes

On the Upper West Side — within the 10025, 10024, and 10023 ZIP codes — 183 storefronts sat empty as of last June. Somewhat surprisingly, the figure is just a small jump from the 160 storefronts that were vacant in the neighborhood as of December 2019.

Council Member Helen Rosenthal, who introduced the legislation to eventually created the vacant storefront database, talked to Patch in a previous story about the importance of business on the Upper West Side.

"For generations, these businesses have been key to the ability to start a new life and eventually enter the middle class. And as we very much see on the Upper West Side, they provide critical neighborhood services. But all of this is under threat," Rosenthal said.

In October 2020, Patch carried out a count that found 57 shuttered businesses on Broadway from West 68th to 98th Streets, 10 more than the same count from the year before.

A recent report by the Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis Real Estate Group also found that a stretch of Broadway from 72nd to 86th Streets had 25 retail openings, the third most of the 16 corridors the report looked at in Manhattan.

Read More:

• Vacancy Blight Sees Many UWS Storefronts Stand Empty For Years
• Broadway In Crisis: 57 Shops Stand Empty On Just 30 UWS Blocks
• UWS Broadway Stretch Has 3rd Most Vacancies In Manhattan: Report

One last thing about the new vacant storefront database, it does not include the names of landlords that keep the properties vacant.

There is, however, a push by elected officials to force building owners to reveal their names rather than hiding behind anonymous LLCs — a move that would pressure them into leasing their storefronts.

Here are the 183 vacant storefronts on the Upper West Side, according to the database. (It appears that some of the newest vacancies in the neighborhood have not been recorded in the database.)

1. 27 WEST 60 STREET
2. 1841 BROADWAY
3. 1841 BROADWAY
4. 44 WEST 63 STREET
5. 30 WEST 63 STREET
6. 30 WEST 63 STREET
7. 225 COLUMBUS AVENUE
8. 75 WEST 71 STREET
9. 27 WEST 72 STREET
10. 23 WEST 73 STREET
11. 23 WEST 73 STREET
12. 135 CENTRAL PARK WEST
13. 54 WEST 74 STREET
14. 301 COLUMBUS AVENUE
15. 305 COLUMBUS AVENUE
16. 60 WEST 75TH STREET - LOWER LEVEL
17. 50 WEST 77 STREET
18. 152 COLUMBUS AVENUE
19. 156 COLUMBUS AVENUE
20. 196 COLUMBUS AVENUE
21. 150 W 69TH STREET
22. 2011 BROADWAY
23. 2028 BROADWAY
24. 2028 BROADWAY
25. 2028 BROADWAY
26. 2028 BROADWAY
27. 104 WEST 71 STREET
28. 163 WEST 71 STREET
29. 150 WEST 72 STREET
30. 148 WEST 72 STREET
31. 146 WEST 72 STREET
32. 146 WEST 72 STREET
33. 144 WEST 72 STREET
34. 158 WEST 72 STREET
35. 160 WEST 72 STREET
36. 100 WEST 72ND STREET
37. 112 WEST 72 STREET
38. 260 COLUMBUS AVENUE
39. 260 COLUMBUS AVENUE
40. 310 COLUMBUS AVENUE
41. 328 COLUMBUS AVENUE
42. 328 COLUMBUS AVENUE
43. 182 WEST 76 STREET
44. 105 WEST 77 STREET
45. 173 WEST 78 STREET
46. 101 WEST 78 STREET
47. 10 WEST END AVE
48. 243 WEST 60 STREET
49. 110 WEST END AVENUE
50. 142 WEST END AVENUE
51. 2061 BROADWAY
52. 2061 BROADWAY
53. 2067 BROADWAY
54. 2067 BROADWAY
55. 254 WEST 72 STREET
56. 235 WEST 72 STREET
57. 2126 BROADWAY
58. 2138 BROADWAY
59. 2148B BROADW AY
60. 2151 BROADWAY
61. 2151 BROADWAY
62. 205 WEST 76 STREET
63. 2183 BROADWAY
64. 250 WEST 78TH STREET
65. 2200 BROADWAY
66. 206 WEST 79 STREET
67. 208 WEST 79 STREET
68. 2211 BROADWAY
69. 2211 BROADWAY
70. 2211 BROADWAY
71. 400 WEST 61ST STREET
72. 400 WEST 61ST STREET
73. 21 WEST END AVENUE
74. 185 WEST END AVENUE
75. 45 WEST 81 STREET
76. 471 COLUMBUS AVENUE
77. 251 CENTRAL PARK WEST
78. 61 WEST 86 STREET
79. 72 WEST 87 STREET
80. 36 WEST 93RD STREET
81. 705 COLUMBUS AVENUE
82. 705 COLUMBUS AVENUE
83. 705 COLUMBUS AVENUE
84. 726 COLUMBUS AVE
85. 721 COLUMBUS AVENUE
86. 401 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
87. 401 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
88. 462 COLUMBUS AVENUE
89. 104 WEST 83 STREET
90. 495 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
91. 175 WEST 85 STREET
92. 120 WEST 86TH STREET
93. 641 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
94. 700 COLUMBUS AVENUE
95. 700 COLUMBUS AVENUE
96. 104 WEST 96 STREET
97. 221 WEST 79 STREET
98. 217 WEST 79TH ST
99. 2230 BROADWAY
100. 2230 BROADWAY
101. 2245 BROADWAY
102. 2244 BROADWAY
103. 217 WEST 80 STREET
104. 211 WEST 80 STREET
105. 209 WEST 80 STREET
106. 205 WEST 80 STREET
107. 422 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
108. 422 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
109. 434 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
110. 251 WEST 81ST STREET
111. 221 WEST 82ND STREET
112. 221 WEST 82ND STREET
113. 221 WEST 82ND STREET
114. 221 WEST 82ND STREET
115. 225 WEST 83 STREET
116. 2322 BROADWAY
117. 502 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
118. 510 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
119. 520 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
120. 520 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
121. 2373 BROADWAY
122. 2373 BROADWAY
123. 2360 BROADWAY
124. 2360 BROADWAY
125. 2381 BROADWAY
126. 564 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
127. 88TH STREET 200 WEST - 1C
128. 254 WEST 88 STREET
129. 580 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
130. 590 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
131. 616A AMSTERDAM AVENUE
132. 2451 BROADWAY
133. 652 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
134. 2465 BROADWAY
135. 2479 BROADWAY
136. 2485 BROADWAY
137. 201 WEST 92 STREET
138. 676 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
139. 676 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
140. 220 WEST 93 STREET
141. 714 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
142. 2532 BROADWAY
143. 268 WEST 96 STREET
144. 10 MANHATTAN AVENUE
145. 935 COLUMBUS AVENUE
146. 70 WEST 106 STREET
147. 53 WEST 106TH STREET
148. 975 COLUMBUS AVENUE
149. 969 COLUMBUS AVENUE
150. 750 COLUMBUS AVENUE
151. 106 WEST 105TH STREET
152. 930 COLUMBUS AVENUE
153. 933 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
154. 149 WEST 106TH STREET
155. 149 WEST 106TH STREET
156. 946 COLUMBUS AVENUE
157. 2560 BROADWAY
158. 766 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
159. 772 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
160. 2588 BROADWAY
161. 2586 BROADWAY
162. 772 WEST END AVENUE
163. 2599 BROADWAY
164. 2626 BROADWAY
165. 2647 BROADWAY
166. 2659 BROADWAY
167. 2659 BROADWAY
168. 2672 BROADWAY
169. 216 WEST 103 STREET
170. 2708 BROADWAY
171. 906 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
172. 926 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
173. 930 AMSTERDAM AVENUE
174. 2764 BROADWAY
175. 2770 BROADWAY
176. 2770 BROADWAY
177. 2810 BROADWAY
178. 315 WEST 96TH STREET
179. 301 WEST 96TH STREET
180. 301 WEST 107TH STREET
181. 2875 BROADWAY
182. 2875 BROADWAY
183. 2875 BROADWAY

Patch reporter Nick Garber contributed to this report.