NYC retailers assess damage - New York City retail stores near the World Trade Center are still shut down or have relocated due to terrorist attacks - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

DSN Retailing Today, Oct 1, 2001 by Molly Prior

Week of disrupted commerce could take toll

NEW YORK -- Six days after the attack on the World Trade Center, as New Yorkers began painstakingly relinquishing hope of finding survivors in the tower rubble and started mourning the loss of their loved ones, hordes of managers and owners from the 14,000 businesses located downtown migrated toward Ground Zero to assess the damage on their offices, storefronts and, more importantly, their livelihood. The opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange Sept. 17, coupled with encouraging pep talks by both President Bush and Mayor Giuliani to "get back to work," signaled both big name and mom & pop retailers to return to their stores below 14th Street.

Those who had opened their doors on Sept. 17 spent the better part of the week hosing down ash-covered awnings, dousing dusty sidewalks with buckets of water and washing the filth off blackened windows. But with military guards and police officers lining the streets, many of whom donned fatigues and facemasks, the scene was less than inviting to New York's consumers.

Stores along Wall Street, namely Duane Reade, Dress Barn, the American Greetings Store and the Hallmark Store, remained closed that Monday. New York City's leading drugstore chain, Duane Reade, which has stores sprinkled throughout the downtown area, was hardest hit. In total, 23 of Duane Reade's 193 stores remained closed Sept. 12 when the city's "Frozen Zone" extended as far north as 14th Street.

In the subsequent days, many of those stores were opened as the city dropped the northern edge of the "Frozen Zone" from 14th Street to Canal Street. But many remained closed. By the start of business on Sept. 17, Duane Reade had already warned its quarterly earnings would be lower than expected.

Leading office supply retailer Staples has four Manhattan Express stores below 14th Street, two of which lie in close proximity to where the towers once stood. Other locations throughout Manhattan used their store windows to post hundreds of free color copies of missing accident victims.

On the blast-shattered windows of The Men's Wearhouse on Broadway, rescue workers had spray-painted "Aid Station" across the dilapidated storefront after boarding up the windows. A battered Brooks Brothers located close by at 1 Liberty Plaza doubled as a rescue center and a morgue the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 11.

All 80 retail tenants housed in heavily trafficked Mall at the World Trade Center were destroyed by the catastrophic terrorist attack on the twin towers. Thankfully, most retailers were able to report employees were safely evacuated, and the store manager had even locked the door behind them in some cases.

All 30 employees of the 40,000-sq.-ft. Borders store, listed as one of the company's Top 10 most heavily trafficked stores, evacuated prior to the collapse and are now being placed in various locations in the New York City area. Borders, like many retailers across the nation, shuttered their doors on all U.S. stores for the day:

Most re-opened Wednesday with light foot traffic. Kitchen products retailer Lechters lost its WTC store and temporarily shuttered two of its 12 Manhattan stores. There's no doubt these stores aren't going to make a profit contribution right now. But that was not the point, said David Hisbrook, senior vp of marketing. The point was to carry on and focus on those things that the company had control over.

All businesses within the secured area across Canal Street between Broadway and the Hudson River were forced to remain closed. Managers wishing to visit a store located below Canal Street were required to bring a flashlight, personal and business identification to 110 Maiden Lane. They were then escorted to their building, provided it was deemed safe enough to enter.

For the most part, insurance will likely cover the losses of the large retail chains with stores located within Ground Zero. However, the impact on smaller businesses will be great. Ranging from law firms to shoe repair shops, these businesses are scrambling to find alternative space in lower Manhattan and beyond. Over 5,000 businesses have turned to the Empire State Development Corp., which has set up a temporary one-stop help center in the lobby of 633 Third Ave. for specific needs such as finance and relocation.

Close to 90% of the people who have called the 800 number or visited its emergency center represent small businesses, said spokeswoman Glynis Goldwald. She added the U.S. Small Business Association in many cases is cutting through red tap to get these businesses up and running as quickly as possible.

To help those in need of retail space, Empire State Development has partnered with CoStar, a database of commercial real estate throughout Manhattan, and the Real Estate Board of New York.

But with the landscape of lower Manhattan permanently altered and large firms temporarily located in Newark and Jersey City, N.J., foot traffic, along with the shadow of the World Trade Center towers, is noticeably absent. President of SMR Research Corp. Stuart Feldstein expects Chapter 11 filings to increase throughout the remainder of 2001. Although the numbers were quite low in comparison to the prior year, SMR was already seeing an increase in filings due to a softening economy on the brink of recession.