A hearing examining rising storefront vacancy rates and trends across New York City's commercial corridors. Discussions focused on efforts by the Department of Small Business Services (SBS) to track and analyze vacancy data, to identify driving factors like high rents and retail theft, and to deploy tools like grants for community needs assessments and storefront improvements. Concerns were raised about unregulated rent increases displacing small businesses, illegal operations masking true vacancy levels, and landlords withholding vacant properties. Proposals included zoning amendments to permit more commercial uses, vacancy taxes, activating vacant spaces through art installations, and providing assistance to businesses opening in high-vacancy areas. Features testimony from SBS, business groups, and the public.