A report by CBRE Group Inc. said that New York was already dealing with a glut of retail space — and the pandemic is making it worse. Average asking rents in Manhattan, which have been sliding for years, plunged to the lowest level since 2011 in the second quarter, Bloomberg News reported. Vacancies are growing in prime shopping districts, the firm said. Then there are the bankruptcies. Brooks Brothers and Neiman Marcus Group Inc. are just two on the growing list of companies that have filed for chapter 11, potentially adding to a glut of empty stores. “It’s a nightmare,” said Tom Mullaney, managing director of restructuring at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. “A lot of stores are going to disappear and never come back.” Midtown’s office workers are at home, and many are expected to stay there for months. The same is true of international tourists, with a 40 percent decline seen this year, according to the Partnership for New York City. In addition to national chains, the group estimated that as many as one third of the city’s 230,000 small businesses will close for good as restaurants and bars struggle to pay rent with social distancing sapping business.
