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The ANHD Blog raises the profile of our issues, and educates our member groups, city decision makers, and the general public on our core issue areas. The ANHD Blog offers sharp, timely and effective commentary on key public policy issues, as well as our work and the work of our member groups.

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It's Time to #EndCommercialVacancy

By: Lena Afridi

September 17, 2018

Join United for Small Business NYC as we raise the alarm on vacant storefronts across the city.

As a recent NYTimes spotlight demonstrates, commercial corridors across the city are being hollowed out. Since United for Small Business NYC launched its campaign platform last June, we have worked with communities to elevate the issue of commercial vacancy to a citywide audience. While the fight to prevent displacement continues, the loss of small businesses in many neighborhoods has already happened.

It doesn’t need to be this way. Landlords, pursuing ever higher rents, push out commercial tenants in a gamble that leaves communities in limbo. In the absence of any penalty for this kind of behavior, the displacement and warehousing of commercial spaces will continue. Since we don’t have citywide data that shows how bad the vacancy crisis is, communities must take the lead on this issue.

Starting today, United for Small Business NYC is starting a discussion on social media to #EndCommercialVacancy. If you see a vacant storefront in your neighborhood, take a picture of it, tag @usb_nyc on Twitter, and use the hashtag #EndCommercialVacancy.

By collectively showing the scope of the commercial vacancy crisis, we can demand action from our city government: A penalty on landlords who intentionally keep commercial spaces vacant.

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