>>> SMALL MOM AND POP STORES ARE

A HALLMARK OF NEW YORK CITY

LIVING, BUT CHANGING CONSUMER

BEHAVIOR AS WELL AS RISING RENTS

ARE FORCING MANY OF THEIR STORES

TO CLOSE THEIR DOORS AND IN MANY

CASES THEY CAN LIE VACANT FOR

YEARS.

WE WENT TO NEW YORK'S EAST

VILLAGE, ASKING RESIDENTS HOW

THEY FEEL ABOUT LOSING THESE

ONE-TIME STAPLES OF THEIR

COMMUNITY.

>> YOU KNOW THEM, THEY'RE PART

OF YOUR COMMUNITY.

>> THEY LIVED JUST ACROSS THE

STREET FROM THE SHUTTERED CLAY

WORKS THAT WAS ON 39th STREET

FOR 34 YEARS, THE SPACE HAS BEEN

VACANT SINCE IT CLOSED LAST

YEAR.

THE ARGYLE NEXT TO IT IS ALSO

EMPTY.

THEY AGREE, SHOPS COMING AND

GOING IS PART OF THE LIFE OF

SMALL BUSINESSES.

BUT THEY'RE BEING REPLACED BY

CHAINS IF AT ALL.

>> IT'S LIKE BIG BOX MAKING ALL

THE MONEY AND GOING SOMEWHERE.

>> MELANIE COPPER SMITH RUNS

COBBLESTONE, SHE'S ONE OF MANY

SMALL BUSINESSES AND HER

BOUTIQUE IS ONE OF THE LONGEST

RUNNING STORES ON THE BLOCK.

>> MY VIEW IS YOU DON'T HAVE TO

GO TO THE OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS

BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL THE SAME.

YOU GOT YOUR BANKS, BUT THE

THINGS THAT MAKES NEW YORK

GREAT, THAT'S ALL BEING TAKE ON

AWAY, YOU KNOW?

>> HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK IS

HAVING THESE SMALL MOM AND POP

SHOPS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR

PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING FOR A

PLACE TO LIVE?

>> I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT.

TO ME ESPECIALLY A BIG PLACE

LIKE MANHATTAN THAT CAN BE VERY

COLD AND LONELY IN SOME WAYS.

AND CONTINUITY IS VERY

IMPORTANT.

>> SOME HAVE TOYED WITH THE IDEA

OF REZONING THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO

KEEP BIG BOX STORES OUT.

>> WHETHER WE CAN PASS

LEGISLATION WHETHER IT CAN BE

PASSED ON TO THE SENATE OR WE'RE

LOOKING AT THE 20th CENTURY

SMALL BUSINESS SURVIVAL ACT.

WE'RE LOOKING AT A SPECIAL

DISTRICT OVERLAY TO LIMIT THE

SIZE OF STORE FRONTS AND MAKE

SURE THAT WE'RE ATTRACTING

RETAIL THAT IS DIVERSE,

AFFORDABLE AND PROMPT.

>> RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT A

LOT OF ART GALLERIES, EATING AND

DRINKING ESTABLISHMENTS.

SOME OF THE REASONS IS THOSE

DON'T OPEN UNTIL THE NIGHTTIME.

THAT MAKES IT LESS APPEALING FOR

PEOPLE TO COME HERE AND WANT TO

SHOP.

>> Reporte

>> THE EAST SIDE --

>> A LOT OF WHAT WE DO IN

COMMUNITY BOARD THREE IS TRY TO

CONNECT BUSINESSES TO SOME OF

OUR CITY AGENCIES THAT PROVIDE

FREE SERVICES, LIKE THE SMALL

BUSINESS SERVICES WOULD HAVE

FREE LEGAL HELP.

>> LAST YEAR THE AGENCY THAT

THAT CONNECTING ENTREPRENEURS TO

$30 MILLION IN CAPITAL

HIGHLIGHTING THE CITY'S SMALL

BUSINESSES.

>> THE MOST IMPORTANT IS THAT

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IS CHANGING.

SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT

SMALL BUSINESSES KNOW HOW TO

MARKET THEIR SMALL BUSINESS AND

CONNECT WITH THE LOCAL

COMMUNITY.

BECAUSE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

HAVE AN ADVANTAGE.

THEY KNOW THE COMMUNITY, THEY

KNOW THEIR CUSTOMERS.

>> BWHEN WE FIRST OPENED, WE WEE

MORE LIKE A CANDY STORE, WE HAD

CIGARETTES, LOTTERY TICKETS,

NEWSPAPERS, ALL KINDS OF LITTLE

THINGS THAT -- BECAUSE WE WERE

BASICALLY JUST SURVIVISURVIVING

WOULD SELL ANYTHING WE COULD TO

PROVIDE.

PEOPLE ALWAYS LIKED THE HOME

MADE HONEST SIMPLE EUROPEAN FOO.

SO I SLOWLY LOOK IT IN THAT

DIRECTION.

>> HE'S HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE OF

HAVING AN UNDERSTANDING

LANDLORD.

>> OUR LANDLORD IS A UKRAINIAN

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, AND

OBVIOUSLY WE VALUE HAVING THEM

AS A LANDLORD.

>> BUT FOR MANY SMALL

BUSINESSES, THE SPECTOR OF

DRAMATICALLY INCREASED RENTS

LOOMS LARGE AND SHUTTERED

BUSINESSES ARE A SIGNAL OF

WHAT'S DOWN THE PIKE.

>> THIS IS JAMES AND CARLA

MURRAY, THEY PUBLISHED THREE

BOOKS ON IT.

>> IN THE TIME IT TOOK US TO

COMPILE THE BOOK, THE PHOTOS

FROM OUR FIRST BOOK WHICH CAME

OUT IN 2008, ABOUT ONE-THIRD OF

THE BUSINESSES THAT WE HAD

DOCUMENTED AT THAT POINT THAT

MADE IT IN THE BOOK CLOSED.

>> TODAY IT'S OVER 80% HAVE

CLOSED SINCE THAT FIRST BOOK.

>> SO FROM 2008 TO 2018, WE WENT

FROM 30% TO OVER 80%, AND THAT

NUMBER IS INCREASING ALMOST ON A

DAILY BASIS.

>> INITIALLY THEY STARTED TAKING

PHOTOS OF STORE FRONTS, BUT

QUICKLY LEARNED THEY WERE

CAPTURING A FADING HISTORY.

>> WE ARE TRYING TO CELEBRATE

THE ONES THAT WERE STILL OPEN,

BECAUSE WE DIDN'T TAKE PICTURES

OF CLOSED STORES, WE TOOK

PICTURES OF OPEN VIBRANT

BUSINESSES.

IT'S AN OLD ITALIAN FAMILY

BUSINESS, AND HE TOLD US THAT IF

HE'S EVER -- IF THE RENT EVER

GETS TOO MUCH FOR HIM, THAT'S

IT, HE'S CLOSING THE BUSINESS,

BECAUSE HE CAN'T MOVE ANYWHERE,

THE RENTS ARE HIGH EVERYWHERE.

>> NIAM DOUGLAS FOR

"METROFOCUS."