Village Preservation has joined with our partners the East Village Community Coalition and Cooper Square Committee to produce a new report looking at the state of storefronts and retail spaces in the East Village since COVID. The pandemic created enormous challenges for many of our local small businesses — in many cases insurmountable ones. But amazingly, some stores have thrived and even grown.

This report is the first comprehensive look at what happened to retail establishments in the East Village over the last two years, using both data analysis and interviews with merchants. We see which retail sectors were most negatively impacted and which fared the best, as well as which types of landlords tended to end up with empty storefronts and shuttered businesses. It all provides a necessary foundation for charting a path forward for a healthy and sustainable environment for small independent retail in our neighborhoods and our city, with lessons that can help shape planning and policy.

Read more about our efforts to support small businesses and how you can help HERE.