Winter 2021 Brooklyn Retail Report

On March 7, 2020, Governor Cuomo declared a State of Emergency due to COVID-19, placing restrictions on the operations of businesses across New York State. Businesses slowly gained confidence in early 2021 as social distancing measures remained effective and vaccination efforts started to move forward.

These restrictions continued to have a dramatic impact on Brooklyn’s diverse retail corridors, but as REBNY Retail Advisory Group members noted, the impact has been highly uneven. Restaurants and bars have been particularly hard hit, but they have also been remarkably resilient.

Retailers been very ingenious in adapting to changing rules and conditions. Many landlords have also shown flexibility – putting more generous concessions and tenant improvements on the table. Other owners are phasing in rents over multiple years.