Village Preservation recently penned an op-ed in GlobeSt.com about the positive correlation between landmarking and small business retention – read it here.  The op-ed discusses the recent study and analysis done by Village Preservation, the Cooper Square Committee, and the East Village Community Coalition showing a consistently and significantly lower rate of retail vacancies in landmarked parts of the East Village as compared to non-landmarked ones.  The retail spaces in these landmarked areas also tend to be independently-owned small businesses, as opposed to the chain stores more commonly found in some other parts of the neighborhood. 

Small businesses face many challenges right now.  Understanding those challenges is critical to finding solutions, but some with alternative agendas have tried to claim that landmarking hamstrings or burdens small businesses.  But this first of its kind apples-to-apples survey and studyshows just the opposite, with small businesses thriving in landmarked areas as compared to non-landmarked areas directly adjacent.

Clearly much needs to be done to help small businesses in our neighborhoods.  That’s why Village Preservation runs our “Business of the Month” program, and why we are advocating for measures that would help small businesses to renegotiate long-term leases, limit chain-store proliferation in certain areas, and provide disincentives for leaving retail spaces empty for long periods of time. Learn more and help here.