A recent trip to Astoria proves what seems to have been clear for a long time. If you walk the streets of Manhattan, most of the shops are closed; if you walk the streets of Astoria, most of the stores are open. It is quite clear that Manhattan has moved to Astoria.
Manhattan has become too expensive – nobody who works here can afford to live here anymore. People are moving to Astoria and the jobs have also moved to Astoria – so have little stores and restaurants.
It is obvious that the rent in Manhattan is simply too high: small businesses can no longer afford to be here. Central Manhattan is fast becoming an area of empty shops and low service.
Almost any service call today brings people in from outside of Manhattan to perform the required service. It would seem that the simple answer to this problem is to reduce the rents.
Why in the world do rents continue to be so high in Manhattan even though the properties are empty? It makes more sense to rent a place at a lower price and raise the rent over a period of years rather than leave the space empty.
However, if they are going to be empty, why not turn them over to artists and offer free studio space to artists? That would be much better than having the property empty.
Everything possible should be done to keep young people, artists and essential workers in Manhattan.