T Brasserie at The Tin Building by Jean Georges

Momo, Chick n Buns, K-Pop Haus, Cebichelsea, Los Panchos, Buon Cibo, Umai Fish, Two Geese Bakery, Auntie Anne’s / Jamba Juice, and Sammy’s Taqueria — all replacing eateries that closed during the pandemic. Auntie Anne’s also opened a second location in the upper concourse.

• Brookfield Place: Plaza M Spa opened, as well as MahZe-Dahr Mediterranean and Ani Ramen in Hudson Eats. Five retailers closed, including Peloton, Cicci di Carne, and clothing stores Vince and Hickey Freeman.

• The Seaport: In addition to the Tin Building, two notable new restaurants opened in the Seaport over the past year: famed Brooklyn-based pizzeria Di Fara opened a new location at 108 South Street, and Casa TuLum, an upscale Mexican restaurant, opened at 229 Front Street. Other retailers to open in the Seaport include She is Cheval, a women’s clothing store; The Canvas, a fashion boutique featuring independent designers; MCM Coffee; H.I.I.T. THE DECK boxing gym; and Wisdom Candles & More. Upcoming additions to the Seaport include The Lawn Club, an indoor venue for lawn games like bocce and croquet; and a new restaurant helmed by Wylie Dufrense and Josh Eden. Both will open in the Fulton Market Building.

Retail Coming Soon

Looking forward, there are a few key retailers and attractions are anticipated to open this year, including:

• Printemps, a luxury French department store, announced in September that it will open its first US location at One Wall Street in spring 2024. The store will span 54,365 square feet over two levels with a 346 linear foot facade on Broadway at the corner of Wall Street. This space includes the landmarked Red Room, one of only 50 interior landmarks in New York City.

• Sixpoint Brewery is set to open a 7,500 sq. ft. taproom in Brookfield Place at 200 Liberty Street in late 2023. The location will also include a 2,500 sq. ft. outdoor beer garden.

• CompletePlayground, a nonprofit family activity center, will open a 40,000 sq. ft. facility at 30 Broad Street in the former New York Sports Club space. CompletePlayground offers programming for children through classes in gymnastics, martial arts, rock climbing, dance and other activities.

Aftershocks of the Pandemic Affect Retail Closures

The ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic created significant uncertainty in the Lower Manhattan retail landscape. Many businesses announced temporary closures at the beginning of the pandemic, and throughout 2021 it remained unclear which would eventually reopen. 2022 saw a wave of these retailers close permanently. 160 retailers closed permanently in 2022, approximately double the number to close in 2021. A significant number of these had been expected to eventually reopen, but were unable to do so. In this light these closures can be considered in tandem with the 163 that closed in 2020, thus providing a full accounting of the effects of the pandemic on retailers in Lower Manhattan. Of the permanent closures, approximately 46% were restaurants/ bars, 34% shops and 20% personal/business services. Notable closures include:

• Mulberry & Vine closed at 73 Warren Street due to a sharp drop in daily office workers;

• Dark Horse bar (formerly known as 17 Murray) closed at 17 Murray Street;

• The Patriot Saloon closed at 110 Chambers Street. It was named one of NYC’s great dive bars by Grub Street;

• Homemade by Miriam closed at 74 Warren Street;

• Greenwich Street Jewelers left its 64 Trinity Place location after 45 years to move to Tribeca; and

• Bobby Van’s closed after 16 years at 25 Broad Street.

Asking Retail Rents Continue to Fall

According to the Real Estate Board of New York’s fall 2022 retail report, asking rents for ground-floor retail along Broadway (Battery Place to Chambers Street) ranged from $235 to $600 per square foot and averaged $283 per square foot — down 28.4% from 2021. Asking rents in other parts of the district are often considerably lower than the prime Broadway locations surveyed by REBNY. Lower Manhattan retail rents have declined as it has become harder to lease to businesses that cater to weekday office workers, who have continued to work remote or hybrid schedules. Average rents along Broadway fell to their lowest rate since spring 2015.

Retailers Benefit as Pedestrian Activity and Transit Ridership Rebound Throughout the Year

Monthly pedestrian counts in Lower Manhattan increased considerably throughout the year. Though 2022 began with suppressed activity due to the Omicron variant, with a recorded 2.7 million pedestrians in January, foot traffic increased to 4.7 million pedestrians in April and continued to improve gradually throughout the spring and summer. Lower Manhattan recorded a peak monthly total in September, reaching a post-pandemic high of 5.3 million pedestrians. Pedestrian volumes during the winter holiday season rose 20% above 2021 levels, with December recording 4.8 million pedestrians in Lower Manhattan. Growing tourism, warmer weather and stabilizing midweek office occupancy are driving weekday traffic and contributing to a busier feel on the streets.

Subway and ferry ridership also rebounded significantly in 2022. Fulton Street, Lower Manhattan’s largest and most heavily-used station, saw over 14.6 million riders last year, up 66% from 2021 levels. Monthly total ridership at Fulton Street surpassed 1 million riders in March — for the first time since 2020 — and remained above 1.2 million throughout the rest of the year. Nearly 1.4 million riders passed through Fulton Street in October, marking the busiest month for the station since the onset of the pandemic. Ferry ridership at Wall Street/Pier 11 rose 55% above 2021 levels to 1.9 million ferry riders, marking another post-pandemic peak, as tourists returned in large numbers to the popular service and New Yorkers responded enthusiastically to expanded summer service to the Rockaways and year-round access to Governors Island.