Downtowns Struggling, or Just a Sign of the Times?

The Journal News todays has published four pieces on the health of several Westchester County downtown business districts, all of which are linked below. All of the downtowns written on are pretty good, above average business districts in my view. That is one neat thing about our area- the character of our villages and cities is pretty special. 

• Croton’s business district facing challenges 
• Bronxville-area merchants try new strategies to combat bad economy
• Downtown White Plains: Improving market, but times still tough 
• Mount Kisco’s downtown not booming but holding on 
• All of the reports tell the same story to me, and that is that Main Street is suffering the effects of the recession. In Croton, there have been some vacancies in retail buildings for years since the recession hit in 2008. There was a small, vitriolic group that blamed the vacancies on the local republicans. I am far from a republican supporter, but that is nonsense. This is what happens when the country takes the economic hot that it absorbed the past few years. You can’t blame a village trustee for the recession, Wall Street woes, or the sub prime banking crisis. 
• Every area, large and small, modest and affluent has been affected. In my view, it is a sign of the times. This is cyclical, and  in the ebb and flow of a free market, the vacancies will get filled and  prosperity will come when consumer confidence improves and more money circulates. 
• This too shall pass.