You know how you can tell when a real estate broker is lying? They move their lips. — Makes you go "hmmmm".... on In the News: The Mayor Is Jamming Through His Jail Plan

I am glad to see an Aretha tribute related to Franklin Street. I remember after Prince's death someone bought a several sets of balloons spelling out PRINCE and put them on the street signs at (you guessed it) Prince St. If I could figure out how to make them stay I'd venture to Balloon Saloon and buy a bunch. — Susan on Seen & Heard: Is Taylor Swift Looking to Expand Her Holdings?

https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/bc3bede1-961c-cebb-e040-e00a18064596 Block 461: Greenwich Street between Vestry Street and Desbrosses Street (west side) TYPE OF RESOURCE still image GENRE Photographs DATE CREATED 1999 DIVISION The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection PHOTOGRAPHER Stone, Dylan — James on Tribeca Then and Now: The Unknowns (Part 1)

Erik - thanks for the interesting article. As a business owner and someone who leases space, i do feel that the rents on retail spaces and office spaces are disconnected from reasonable levels - that is manifest in the evergrowing number of empty spaces. Strangely landlords are very slow in adjusting rents. Look at the former Delluva spa location which has been empty for at least 4 years. At some point, the massive amount of supply should cause prices to come down - i hope we are close. It would be better for retail businesses and the tribeca neigborhood. — JJ on Ghost Town: The 2018 Retail-Vacancy Report

Yeah....PLEASE SHOOT IN CANADA .....filming in NYC is disruptive...PERIOD! — Anne on The Film Shoot Problem and Thoughts on How to Fix It

What is happening with the Cast Iron House? It seems to be on hold. — Heather Albert on Seen & Heard: Is Taylor Swift Looking to Expand Her Holdings?

I still have issue with that location- if you look at the second floor windows on Google Maps here, currently 448 has 3 sections, while archival photo has 4. The windows could have been changed, but the current ones look pretty old, and the three window format is used at 433 Washington, which incidentally is almost a dead ringer for 448 Washington as seen on Google Maps here. — Robert Ripps on Tribeca Then and Now: The Unknowns (Part 1)

Sorry, the building next door, # 448 — James on Tribeca Then and Now: The Unknowns (Part 1)

Not sure I agree with your assessment... — Robert Ripps on Tribeca Then and Now: The Unknowns (Part 1)

Image 9 is 95 Fifth Ave, entrance on W 17th Street side around the corner. — James on Tribeca Then and Now: The Unknowns (Part 1)

#7 This one looks a lot like 35-37 North Moore Street, between Varick & Hudson, although if it is, they switched the position of the ironwork in bays 1 & 3 when they renovated (as seen on Google Maps here). BTW, that ironwork pattern is used in other places as well on North Moore, and perhaps elsewhere in Tribeca. — Robert Ripps on Tribeca Then and Now: The Unknowns (Part 1)

Thank you, Erik. And thank you, Madeline Lanciani. My wife and I have been patrons of Duane Park Patisserie for two decades, and always fear you will close. I think your of a rational neighborhood association to discuss the desertification of Tribeca retail life and what to do about it is a good one. We’ve had neighborhood organizations before, and they have been successful. — Bruce Ehrmann on Ghost Town: The 2018 Retail-Vacancy Report

Image 8 is 450 Greenwich Street — James on Tribeca Then and Now: The Unknowns (Part 1)

Funny how no one seems to mention the position of the community boards. Drove all small business to Brooklyn. That landscape is thriving....... — Zach on Ghost Town: The 2018 Retail-Vacancy Report

I miss my old Tribeca neighborhood every day, but few things I miss more than the lovely Houseman! From the warm hospitality to the beautiful room to Blumenkrantz’s adorable drawings, but nothing more than Tribeca’s (maybe even NYC’s) best burger! — Eileen Campbell on Valentine No. 66

1- Deposits are more because the Landlord's risk has also gone up. The costs of repairing damage or illegal tenant work has increased, and the Court delays have made it take months longer to evict nonpaying tenants. 2- GGC is the tenant's right to terminate their lease early in exchange for guaranteeing the rent while they are in possession, but not for the entire term of the lease. The landlord cannot terminate the lease early if the market goes up, but the tenant can if it goes down. 3- Tenants often benefit from submarket rents during the term of their leases, being able to sell at lower prices while market rents keep competitors from opening stores nearby. When the lease expires, the business model is no longer tenable for many long term tenants when they cannot afford to hold their own prices where they were during the old lease. 4- and 5- Don't forget other burdens the City adds, like delays and over zealous enforcement by DoB and DoH, property taxes that have risen in part to subsidize breaks to new development condo owners and low rates to co-op owners. — James on Ghost Town: The 2018 Retail-Vacancy Report

As Jonathan commented on June 22, 2018 • 2:45 pm: "Very tough situation. He wants roughly 100 SF, has a very thin budget, and needs to be on the ground floor for visibility purposes. You might see a lot of vacant retail units throughout the neighborhood, but none of the landlords are going to chop up that space and allocate 100 SF for a single user." Just look at the photos of the stores for rent and one can see how large the spaces are, assuming a typical depth of 50-75 feet. — James on Ghost Town: The 2018 Retail-Vacancy Report

Agree. Liebskind’s Jewish Museum was fabulous - before they hung the collection. I saw it both empty and “completed” and it was vastly more powerful empty. — A. on In the News: The Mayor Is Jamming Through His Jail Plan

Many REITS only want the address for the portfolio prestige. They do not care if its rentwd. A vacancy tax or something that encourages filling the space is needed. Sadly owners or REITs only care about the price per sq ft of the condos to make profit on the investment... Retail occupancy is immaterial. — TAMK on Ghost Town: The 2018 Retail-Vacancy Report

I would rather look at an empty store than at another window display of hideous clothing, shoes, and handbags. — Michael G on Ghost Town: The 2018 Retail-Vacancy Report

I remember the way it was back in 1990. I would take it again any day. the neighborhood had artsy working class diverse people ( the originals who fought for Tribeca) PS 234, Food Emporium, Washington Market Park. They lived in Independence Plaza from the late 1970s when no one wanted to live here. I moved in in 1990. Yes it was quiet but it was home. I could afford to live here. Mom and pop stores in the area. We lived through 911 ( most of us sick from that exposure). Then they come in, they come in and little by little you can afford to shop or live in the neighborhood you built. It is really terrible. I miss those days when Tribeca had character ! — native on Tribeca Then and Now: The Unknowns (Part 1)

151 shops for rent . . . and not one of them a fit for Illya, the barber on Lispenard St. who is desperately looking for a new space in the neighborhood because at some point soon his corner will be be 'developed.' Very sad. — George Bacon on Ghost Town: The 2018 Retail-Vacancy Report

Philip's Poster Museum showing Janz torn street poster collages. All needed now is a poster for the occasion. — robert janz on Seen & Heard: Downtown Connection Changes Route to Thwart Scammers

To adopt the same tone as your point, "you really don't know much about economics." If the market won't bear the rents landlords are demanding, for whatever reason (Amazon, lack of population density in Tribeca etc) then how exactly are the rents "fair"? Landlords are holding out hope for a magical return to a leasing environment that is long gone - the faster they realize it, better for them and the community (i.e. commercial tenants and fewer vacant storefronts). — DDSS on Ghost Town: The 2018 Retail-Vacancy Report

"I think the issue is that landlords are legally allowed to write off something like 80% of their asking prices. So actually it is the taxpayers who are paying for the vacant properties." Just as a note; this does not exist. — Josh on Ghost Town: The 2018 Retail-Vacancy Report