Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue Mired in $200 Million Retail Rent Fight
- Landlord-tenant disputes, rising vacancies hold back recovery
- A year after NYC’s lockdown, shopper traffic has yet to return
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Not long ago, major fashion brands were willing to pay ballooning rents just to have a store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. Now the world-famous shopping strip has transformed into a battleground between landlords and tenants seeking a way out of pricey leases.
It’s a side effect of the pandemic that’s plagued New York for more than a year. The foreign tourists who were Fifth Avenue’s lifeblood before the lockdown are gone. So, for the most part, are the office workers who might have stopped at a store while hustling by. Boarded-up spaces and “For Rent” signs are multiplying.