Delancey Subway Station Loses its Newsstand

With ridership at historically low levels on the subway, the station mini-marts that feed off such traffic are likewise suffering.

The MTA told The City publication this fall that 35 of the 215 subterranean retail spaces in the subway — more than 16% of all storefronts in the system — have gone out of business since the novel coronavirus outbreak last spring.

Included in that figure is the small bodega at the Delancey Street/Essex Street station, which was a relative longtimer. It first opened on the northbound platform in September 2009.

Also of note is the loss this summer of Record Mart from the Times Square station, which dates back to 1958 when it was founded in the Union Square stop.

For the others, the struggle is real. Andrei Berman, an MTA spokesperson, told The City the agency recently implemented a rent-deferral program for tenants during this “immensely challenging” public health crisis.

“In the months ahead, we will work to advance a wide range of policies aimed at bringing back tenants to some of the locations in question,” he said. “[We] expect that vacancy rates will decline as customers continue to return to the system in greater numbers.”

Subway ridership is down nearly 75% from this time last year, an improvement from April when it sunk to 93%.