Zohran Mamdani’s Disdain for NYC Business Is Showing — Painfully

On Tuesday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani trumpeted in a tweet that New York City’s storefront vacancies had hit a post-pandemic low.

Turns out he popped the champagne cork too soon.

City Comptroller Mark Levine released a report on Thursday that put the numbers in context — and showed the city lagging the nation.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the local retail vacancy rate stood at 10.5%.

As of April, it was 11% — about 15,700 empty storefronts.

The national vacancy rate was 4.08% in 2024, below the 2019 rate of 4.37%.