STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- At a time when brick-and-mortar retailing is taking a backseat to online shopping, Staten Island ranked as having one of the highest storefront vacancy rates in New York City.

The study, Retail Vacancy in New York City Trends and Causes, 2007-2017, which was completed by Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office, looks at how online retailing, rising commercial rents and regulatory hurdles fueled the rise in vacant storefronts.

The report examined 24 city neighborhoods -- including Oakwood/New Dorp, Rossville and Port Richmond -- and looked at average rent and vacancies, among other factors.

“New Yorkers have all seen the signs of our changing economy in the last decade, as vacant storefronts have become all too common and neighborhood institutions have fallen by the wayside," said Stringer.

“Even as our economy has grown, many mom-and-pop stores have been left behind, transforming spaces once owned by local small businesses into barren storefronts. This isn’t just about empty buildings and neighborhood blight, it’s about the affordability crisis in our city,” he added.

Of those profiled neighborhoods, Rossville had the third highest vacancy rate of 16.4%. -- with 37 empty storefronts.

Oakwood/New Dorp had a 15.68% vacancy rate with 44 vacant stores, and Port Richmond had 10.84% with 49 empty storefronts.

“Comptroller Stringer’s report supports what we have seen on the ground and have been talking about in recent years,” said James Prendamano, CEO of Casandra Properties, which has two Staten Island offices.

“Skyrocketing real estate taxes and inflexible zoning have created vacancy rates far beyond the norms. It’s particularly frustrating as these issues can be addressed and fixed if the real estate tax issue was addressed head on,” he added.

Key findings from Stringer’s report include:

The citywide vacancy rate, measured as vacant retail square feet divided by total retail square feet, rose from 4% in 2007 to 5.8% in 2017. An additional 5.2 million square feet of retail space was vacant in 2017 compared to 2007.

Vacancy rates have risen across all five boroughs. Although Manhattan is home to areas with some of the greatest amounts of vacant square-feet, the highest vacancy rate neighborhoods lie outside of Manhattan -- particularly in Staten Island and Queens.

Rise of online shopping has reshaped the mix of New York City’s retail space in favor of service-oriented establishments, such as restaurants, barbers and exercise studios. The number of merchandise retail outlets in New York City rose by 19% between 2007 and 2017, while the number of personal services establishments rose by nearly 50%, and bars and restaurants soared by 65%.

STOREFRONT VACANCY IN NYC REPORT

Another recent report, Storefront Vacancy in NYC, conducted by the City Planning Department, looked at New Dorp’s commercial strip. In that study New Dorp ranked better than many of the commercial strips highlighted in the study, and was dubbed a “local stable corridor.”

Frank Bennett Sr., owner of A.F. Bennett, a long-running salon and wellness spa on New Dorp Lane, told the Advance last month that high rents and property taxes are greatly hurting merchants.

“All of the stores on New Dorp Lane are smaller mom-and-pop types, and do not garner the attention of the major national brands that can afford to pay large sums of triple net rent,” he said.

The other Island-based commercial strip examined in the study was Port Richmond Avenue, which was considered an “underperforming corridor” with a 16.2% vacancy rate.