Nearly 75 percent of shops operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority are vacant

Two people walk down a corridor with two empty storefronts.

The Turnstyle Underground Market at the Columbus Circle subway station.Credit…Yehyun Kim for The New York Times

At Columbus Circle, only one of the 40 shops that opened in its underground market eight years ago is still open today. At Fulton Center, the decade-old mall in a Lower Manhattan subway station is nearly vacant. In Midtown, empty storefronts line the Port Authority and Rockefeller Center stations.

The state of retail in New York City’s vast underground subway system is, in a word, bleak.

Nearly three-quarters of spaces in the transit network are empty, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a downward trend that began before the coronavirus pandemic but was exacerbated by it and the rise of remote and hybrid work.

For travelers, the empty storefronts have created a sense of unease and urban decay. Some doors have been locked with chains, their windows covered with for-lease signs. Others have discarded items like restaurant supplies strewed about. Homeless people have taken over empty corners of retail areas and sleep in stairwell

Around the New York Region

A look at life, culture, politics and more in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Manslaughter or Mercy?: A former doctor is accused of traveling across the United States to help a New York woman asphyxiate herself. He says he is an angel of mercy, but prosecutors called him an angel of death.

Subterranean Shops Going Under: The state of retail in New York City’s vast underground subway system is bleak, with nearly 75% of shops operated by the M.T.A. being vacant.

Cash Is King: Across the country, buying a home in cash is increasingly common. In Manhattan, where all-cash purchases shot up to 64% of home sales in April, it’s become the standard.

Street Wars: Soon, dining sheds around New York City will be dismantled — no matter how attractive they are. Here’s why.

Sunday Routine: Kaitlin Becker, who plays the title role on the children’s show “Meekah,” a spinoff of “Blippi,” spends her Sundays enjoying movies, fancy treats and museum trips with her 6-year-old son.

A Street Brawl, a Stabbing Spree and a New York Block No One Can Fix

After a triple stabbing, police officers are stationed on East 14th Street in Manhattan. “We all said there’s going to have to be a tragedy for something to change,” said Lloyd Arrington, a resident who often sits outside and reads his paper.

Street Erupts When Man in a Wheelchair Is Taken Into Custody in Killing

There was a chaotic scene outside a Manhattan building when neighbors and relatives of a woman who was killed saw a man taken into custody.

Why Some of New York’s Snazziest Dining Sheds Are Headed for the Dumps

Inside the tropical cabana at Indochine.

Editors’ Picks

Etsy vs. Sex

Since Etsy’s announcement, indie sex toy enthusiasts have rallied around small businesses, circulating lists of their stores on social media.

Are You Ever Too Old for a Bikini?

Gabrielle Union-Wade, at 50.

This May Be the Most Overlooked Covid Symptom

Trending in The Times

Jake Sullivan: You Can Count on a Strong NATO

Opinion

U.S. Officials Say Russia Is Unlikely to Take Much More Ukrainian Territory

Installing a trench line in eastern Ukraine last month. Russia’s incremental advances have been slowed by the Ukrainians’ hardened lines in recent months.

U.S. Marshal Shoots Man in Attempted Carjacking Near Sotomayor’s Home