Metro
Foot traffic in New York City’s business districts is still down 33% from pre-COVID-19 levels, making it one of the slowest recovering cities in the country, according to a recent survey.
A study by the University of Toronto analyzed foot traffic in major cities in the United States and Canada, specifically in their downtown or business/tourist districts. In New York, Lower Manhattan and Midtown were considered as the downtown district for the study.
Researchers used mobile phone presence to measure foot traffic, comparing the period from March to mid-June in 2023 to the same period in 2019.
New York City’s recovery rate of 66% ranked 54th out of the 66 cities surveyed. Las Vegas ranked first, with 103% of pre-pandemic foot traffic.
The researchers suggested that the shift to remote office work has significantly contributed to the drop in foot traffic in New York City’s business districts. Karen Chapple, director of the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, stated that the gradual abandonment of commercial office leases by tenants is also a factor.
The exclusion of Hudson Yards from the study was noted by the researchers, as it is not traditionally considered part of Midtown.
Other major cities such as Miami, Nashville, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and San Diego have seen higher recovery rates in their central business districts compared to New York City.
Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis, and San Francisco also struggled to recover pre-pandemic foot traffic levels in their downtown areas.
The accuracy of the University of Toronto’s data was questioned by the Partnership for the City of New York, a major business advocacy group, citing more recent reports showing a stronger recovery in Manhattan’s commerce and tourism districts.
The Partnership highlighted that pedestrian foot traffic in Times Square averaged 285,000 during the last week of October 2023, which is 80% of the pre-pandemic count in the equivalent week of 2019. In Downtown Brooklyn, foot traffic reached 75% of pre-pandemic levels in June 2023.
Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the Partnership, noted that the significant presence of office workers and the decrease in international tourism have impacted foot traffic in the city’s business districts. Wylde also mentioned that the increase
