Women Who Influence presented the 2026 Pink Apple Awards and The Power Seat panel at Brooklyn Borough Hall on Oct. 22, showcasing the importance of helping small businesses stay open as storefront vacancies in Brooklyn remain high.
Brooklyn has the second-highest storefront vacancy rate after Manhattan at 12.3 percent, according to a June report from New York City Comptroller Mark Levine. These empty storefronts remain above pre-pandemic levels, and often form in clusters, creating ongoing vacancies that are also impacted by high rent and lack of commercial rent stabilization.
Parts of Ocean Hill, East New York, Bedford‑Stuy and Crown Heights form a broad zone with vacancy rates above 15 percent.
Founded in 2021 by Gabrieline Reece, Women Who Influence seeks to help women and underrepresented business owners advance their businesses and leadership.
Reece worked with the Office of Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Jeanny Pak, chief operating officer at New York City Economic Development Corporation to host women entrepreneurs and economic leaders for a conversational panel on what small businesses need to stay open and thrive despite those high vacancies.
“When women- and minority-owned businesses cannot grow, our neighborhoods lose jobs, investment and opportunities to build wealth,” Pak said. “These are not just individual challenges, these are economic challenges and they require solutions that address the barriers themselves.”
According to Delia Awusi, who was appointed New York City’s mom-and-pop czar by Mayor Zohran Mamdani in April 2026, one of the main barriers is affordability.
Awusi said small business owners are responsible for extra rent, utility and insurance increases that can be difficult to maintain.
While affordability is a major challenge, payroll and limited access to funding after the initial business launch may also contribute to storefront vacancies.
“A business can have great products, loyal customers but still struggles with rent, inventory, payroll and delay in payments,” Reece said.
Additionally, Sixty-eight percent of businesses Women Who Influence spoke with mentioned that access to resources and opportunities was a barrier for success, according to Reece.
According to Jeanny Pak, the NYCEDC is implementing funded programs, networking and educational opportunities to help small businesses succeed, including Women.NYC and ConstructNYC.
“In fiscal 26, we awarded 43 million in contracts, capacity building participants and provided training to 61 firms,” Pak said.
At the Oct. 22 event, ‘Pink Apple’ awards were given to three women creating opportunity and community impact: Pamela Morgan, Co-Chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women; Kanchana Suggu, Senior Vice President and Chief Impact Officer of the United Way; and Dr. Erica Ford, CEO and Founder of LIFE Camp.
Programs outside the NYCEDC include the Yard Opportunity Shop at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a program funded by a grant from Reynoso to create affordable access to retail space for small, women-and minority-owned businesses.
According to Kitty Chan, deputy commissioner of business services and Power Seat panelist, businesses are often unaware of resources like the Department of Small Business Services and often struggle to know how to ask for help.
“There are a lot of small businesses out in New York, and they're asking these questions,” Reece said. “And we want to be a part of the process to move things forward. It’s a slow conversation, but once it starts going, you definitely will see the work come to life.”
