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New York’s Other Banking Crisis
Who hasn’t lamented the impact of chain retail on Manhattan’s character?
Formerly a bastion of mom-and-pop stores, Manhattan has slowly turned many of its chaotic avenues into a suburbanstyle monotony. Take a quick cab ride up lower Sixth Avenue and find blocks lined with Best Buy, Old Navy, The Container Store and other retailers commonly found in malls.
When discussing the “mall-ization” of Manhattan, often fingers point at retailers such as Starbucks, which has 186 stores in Manhattan, or Duane Reade (139 stores) or Subway (136 stores). Meanwhile banks, whose retail coverage exceeds the total of those of the three aforementioned companies plus Dunkin Donuts (76 stores), McDonalds (72 stores) and Rite Aid (37 stores), get none of the blame.
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