The subway, the train, the metro, the tube—regardless of what you call it, public transportation remains a reliable option for getting around most major cities, none more so than New York. With an estimated 3.6 million people using the subway each week, stores located in underground stations have long offered promising, lucrative spots for retailers. Some vendors sell coffee or pizza; others stock newspapers or food staples.

But rider habits have changed. In particular, online retailers challenge the competitive advantages provided by convenient stalls. Remote and hybrid work have reduced the total number of weekly riders, a trend that started with the coronavirus pandemic. Since pandemic-related closures, almost 75 percent of transit storefronts have closed. For the remaining stores, the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) is offering reduced rent, in an attempt to entice them to stay. Lowering the rents for the fewer remaining stores means a substantial decrease in retail revenue for the MTA, at a time when lower foot traffic and the end of congestion pricing already had significantly affected its income.

Therefore, the MTA has committed to bringing retailers and shoppers back to underground stations, through a series of experimental efforts. In older stops for example, the MTA is upgrading water and power lines, which helps create cleaner, more efficient retail locations. It also has announced plans to build retail corridors at busier locations, including Grand Central Madison and the L.I.R.R. concourse at Penn Station. Transit officials hope to incorporate more food and drink options at these locations, placing quick service stops in passages and on the platforms that receive the highest foot traffic.

Some empty storefronts on the Upper West Side also have been repurposed, such that the MTA created a “busking station” for musicians to attract customers. In Midtown, a living art exhibition was installed, filling an empty news stall with plants. The success of these changes still remains to be seen. But shop owners and managers alike remain hopeful—a good sign.

Discussion Questions

1. What has led to the decline in underground retailers at transit stops?
2. Why is the MTA investing money in busking stations and art exhibitions, when these attractions don’t generate rent?

Sources: Dave Carlin, “NYC Underground Retail Spaces at Alarming 75% Vacancy Rate. Here’s How the City Plans to Fill Them,” CBS News, July 8, 2024; Matthew Haag, “The Sad State of Underground Retail in New York City,” The New York Times, July 7, 2024; Huaxia, “NYC Underground Retail in Bleak State: Authority,” Xinhua, July 8, 2024