Lots of Neon, Yes, but Try to Buy a Table Lamp

Today's New York Times has an interesting article about how the 56,000 residents in the area of Times Square rue the fact that while there is plenty of retail oriented to tourists, "the much-celebrated renewal of the world's best-known urban crossroads has left much to be desired. They say: How about a place to buy a book, a coffeepot or a potted plant? How about a place where they know your name?"

"So concludes Times Square's powerful institutional booster, the Times Square Alliance. The group has polled residents and workers, studied foot traffic, analyzed retail sales and made an aggressive pitch in recent weeks to the real estate industry to try to lure more businesses that cater to New Yorkers, not just to tourists."

"Real estate executives say the seemingly modest goals of the alliance may be out of reach, particularly near the center of Times Square, where business is largely defined by a single overwhelming reality: the 26 million visitors who walk through, and often shop, each year. Stores near the bowtie of Broadway and Seventh Avenue command some of the highest commercial rents in the world."

This touches on something I've thought about for years, that there need to be business property tax incentives-reductions that support the provision of quality services like hardware stores and the like that are necessary to livable neighborhoods, but are less profitable rent-wise compared to restaurants and national chains that can pay higher rents in part to promote their brand or to prevent competitors from locating in good locations, because the rent can be subsidized by business activities in other places in support of overall corporate objectives.