The word “blight” usually describes neighborhoods that have fallen on hard times. But in some of Manhattan’s busiest and most prosperous streets, there’s a high concentration of empty storefronts and some people are now referring to this as “high-rent blight.”  

Justin Levinson lives in the East Village and was so puzzled by the proliferation of vacant shops that he decided to map them. His website, Vacant New York, has since spurred a discussion about the reasons some stores are disappearing — and not being quickly replaced.

Greedy landlords, of course, are always a popular target. In "The New Yorker," law professor Tim Wu argued that rising property values have caused property owners to expect unrealistic rental incomes.

In the New York Post, Steve Cuozzo offered nine explanations, ranging from too much available space, to the expiration of cheap leases.

When Levinson and WNYC walked two avenue blocks, from Christopher Street and Seventh Avenue to Eighth Street and Fifth Avenue, we counted seventeen vacancies. They ranged from a small hair salon that had been around for decades, to an 11,000-square foot former Barnes & Noble that closed on the last day of 2012.

Steven Soutendijk, executive managing director in the retail group at Cushman & Wakefield, concedes that there’s a large number of empty storefronts in some neighborhoods. But he says vacancy — or his preferred term, “availability” — is within the normal range. And there’s always a certain amount of turnover, to accommodate New Yorkers’ shifting tastes.

“You know what was hot five years ago might not be hot today," he said. "So you know, frozen yogurt stores — there were fifty Pinkberry deals done in 2005 and you know Pinkberry isn’t as big a thing anymore. Now, it seems to be poke,” referring to the popular Hawaiian fish salad.

Cushman & Wakefield’s research shows landlords have begun to lower their expectations for getting higher rents. In all twelve commercial districts his firm tracks, average asking rents declined last year. “This map doesn’t really scare me all that much, to be honest with you,” Soutendijk said.