Long Island is among the worst hit areas as vacancies in malls hit an 8-year high.
It comes as a wave of retail bankruptcies leave shops with empty shelves and papered-over windows.
The bleeding at malls continuing with Forever 21 releasing a list of the nearly 180 locations it could potentially close as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. Meantime, Bed Bath & Beyond will shut 60 stores by the end of fiscal 2019.
The rate of unoccupied storefronts surged to 9.4% during the last 3 months of summer, according to just released data from Reis, a unit of Moody’s Analytics.
That figure matched the post-financial crisis high in 2011. Metro areas with the emptiest malls in addition to Long Island include: Tucson, Charleston, Baltimore and Syracuse.
