ShopBleecker Offers Deals On Famed Street Blighted By High Rents

WEST VILLAGE, NY — Dozens of locally-owned West Village businesses are participating in a #ShopBleecker day on Saturday in an effort to support independent vendors struggling with soaring rents.

The event will be filled with deals and special events thanks to the Greenwich Village Chelsea Chamber of Commerce. The group is organizing a whole month of promotions in November to encourage shoppers to support local businesses along Bleecker Street.

Like other neighborhoods throughout the Manhattan, the Village has lost several beloved restaurants and shops that have been unable to sustain profitability amid a period of increasing rents.

A May report from state senator Brady Hoylman's office found that nearly one in every five Bleecker Street storefronts is empty. The report pointed to an issue known as "high rent blight" – after local businesses close down thanks to rising rents, many landlords choose to leave the storefront space vacant while waiting for a tenant who can afford the price.

This in turn encourages more chain stores to take over storefronts once run by Village businesspeople. In the Village alone, a 183-year-old pharmacy was replaced by a Sweetgreen; a locally-owned men's clothing store gave way to a Verizon retailer and a Foot Locker took over the former Shakespeare & Co. bookstore.

Recently, the Greenwich Village Chelsea Chamber of Commerce said the issue of vacant storefronts has worsened. At least 14 percent of the street's storefronts are empty, according to the chamber of commerce's most recently tally. The chamber said it counted 38 vacancies on the street between Eighth Avenue and Bowery.

To encourage shoppers to patronize local stores, dozens of Bleecker Street shops along 20 blocks are offering significant discounts and special promotions as part of #ShopBleecker. On Saturday, deals are available at Village shops like Book Book, the Village Apothecary and more.

You can see a full list of deals, on Saturday and for the rest of November, here. You can learn more about the special events accompanying #ShopBleecker day here.

Image credit: Ciara McCarthy / Patch. Image caption: The longtime Village restaurant Po closed earlier this year thanks to a steep rent hike, the owner said.