Storefront Resurgence Project

The Manhattan Chamber of Commerce convened a half-day summit on February 28, 2024 to explore the needs of storefront businesses as well as solutions to avoid the San Francisco-style “doom loop” which has harmed that city’s downtown retail market. Video of the day can be found here.

The Manhattan Chamber of Commerce's nonprofit foundation has full-time Business Support Specialists on staff who go “door-to-door,” providing free guidance and connections to resources in business strategy, technology, real estate, legal and accounting services, procurement opportunities, marketing, sources of loans and grants, and more.

The Chamber has reached more than 15,000 businesses since October 2020; the vast majority have been women-, minority- and immigrant-owned storefront businesses.

Funding from our partners at Wells Fargo will allow the Chamber to enhance the aesthetic appeal and economic vitality of four commercial corridors through targeted façade renovations: the Upper West Side (Broadway between 79th and 96th Street), Harlem (Lenox Avenue between 110th and 130th Street), East Harlem (116th Street between Morningside Avenue and the FDR Drive), and the Lower East Side (Delancey Street between Clinton Street and the FDR Drive). The Chamber will collaborate directly with local merchants and building owners in these areas to identify and implement needed façade upgrades.

This program is designed to empower entrepreneurs, providing them with the necessary resources and guidance to successfully launch a storefront business in the competitive landscape of Manhattan.

Learn more here.

The Storefront Business Coalition is dedicated to improving the policymaking process in New York City by sharing the stories of our neighborhood entrepreneurs. We seek to educate public officials on the realities of running a storefront business and foster a deeper, more empathetic understanding of how policy impacts our communities. The Coalition Co-Chairs are Deborah Koenigsberger, owner of Noir et Blanc and Hearts of Gold, and Patrick Hall, owner of Élan Flowers. Both are on the Chamber's Board of Directors.

As New York City prepares to host the FIFA World Cup and the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence next summer, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce has partnered with several groups across New York City to launch the 2026 Summer of Opportunity Coalition. The Coalition aims to maximize the economic impact of these events, which are estimated to generate more than $2 billion and attract 1M visitors, by encouraging tourism across all five boroughs and ensuring that local businesses benefit from them.

The 2026 Summer of Opportunity Coalition consists of local chambers of commerce, trade associations, and business improvement districts, including:

• Alliance for Downtown New York
• Bronx Chamber of Commerce
• Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
• CitizensNYC
• Hotel Association of New York City
• Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance
• Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
• Meatpacking District Management Association
• NYC Hospitality Alliance
• Queens Chamber of Commerce
• Regional Plan Association
• Staten Island Chamber of Commerce
• Times Square Alliance