Retail space for lease in the Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is one of Manhattan's main medical office markets, with practices clustered near NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, Hospital for Special Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering and Lenox Hill Hospital. Madison Avenue carries luxury boutiques through the 60s and 70s, while Lexington, Third and Second Avenues and 86th Street hold neighborhood retail and restaurants.
- Spaces
- 1
- Active requirements
- 0
- Median asking
- $159/SF/yr
- Transit
- 4 5 6 at 86 St
Building figures are existing stock from NYC PLUTO 26v2 tax lot records, not space on the market. More below.
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NYC Department of Finance filings
Rent collected per square foot: retail buildings in Manhattan
In 2024, 1,328 Manhattan retail properties filed income statements with the city. Their median gross income was $64.71 per square foot, and the middle half collected between $38.35 and $104.91. The typical property's income was up 2.1% on 2023. The city publishes these figures by borough, not by neighborhood, so they cover Manhattan as a whole.
Gross income per square foot, 2024
Manhattan retail buildings
- Median gross income
- $64.71/SF
- Middle half
- $38.35 to $104.91
- Typical change on 2023
- +2.08%
- Citywide median
- $36.07/SF
- Filings
- 1,328
Turn a price per square foot into monthly rentWhat tenants pay on top of rent
Source: NYC Department of Finance, FY 2027 RPIE 2024 Income and Expense Distributions (FY 2027 assessment roll, published January 2026), page 16. Owners of income-producing properties file a Real Property Income and Expense statement each year; gross income is everything a property collected in 2024 per square foot, as filed, with outlier and partial-year filers left out. It includes vacant space, concessions and older leases, so it is not an asking rent.
NYC storefront registry
Storefronts in the Upper East Side
How many shopfronts the city's registry counts here and how many stood empty at the end of 2025: a quick read on how much choice a retail or restaurant tenant has.
- Registered storefronts
- 2,670
- Vacant on Dec 31, 2025
- 242
- Vacancy rate
- 9.1%
- NYC 9.2%
- A year earlier
- 8.6%
- more empty now
Streets with the most storefronts in the Upper East Side
Large buildings with a vacant storefront
Owners of 1 of the 10 large buildings we track in the Upper East Side with registered storefronts reported at least one vacant on December 31, 2025. Each links to the building's filings by year. Not listings: the registry records no size, rent or asking terms.
| Building | Vacant storefronts | Reported vacant |
|---|---|---|
| 210 East 86th Street | 2 of 2 | Every year end since 2024 |
Own or represent a vacant storefront in the Upper East Side? List it free and it is matched against every retail requirement the day it goes up.
NYC storefront vacancy report: every borough, neighborhood and street, by year
Source: NYC Department of Finance, Storefronts Reported Vacant or Not (Local Law 157), annual filings, pulled 2026-10-16. Owners of buildings with ground- or second-floor storefronts register each one every year with its status on December 31. Neighborhood figures count storefronts near the neighborhood's commercial core, the same area as the building figures on this page. A vacant storefront is not always on the market: some are being renovated, held empty or already leased to a tenant who has not moved in.
NYC tax lot records
Retail buildings in the Upper East Side
What already stands here, from the city's own property data. Useful for sizing a search before a single space is listed.
- Retail space
- 7.6M SF
- Properties with retail space
- 1,658
- All commercial space
- 38.7M SF
- Built before 1940
- 76%
Largest retail buildings
All 27 large commercial buildings in the Upper East SideAge, height and zoning
- Median year built: 1918.
- Median height: 5 floors.
- Most common zoning districts: R8B (813), C1-9 (412), R10 (411).
- Historic districts: Upper East Side Historic District (401 lots), Expanded Carnegie Hill Historic District (95 lots), Metropolitan Museum Historic District (58 lots).
- 69 lots are designated city landmarks.
Source: NYC Department of City Planning, PLUTO 26v2, pulled 2026-10-16. Counts cover tax lots with commercial floor area within about 0.6 mi of the Upper East Side's commercial core, and each lot counts toward one neighborhood only, so boundaries are approximate. Building figures are the city's floor-area estimates, not available space.
MTA station data
Subway stations in the Upper East Side
Every station within about 0.6 mi of the Upper East Side's commercial core, closest first. Stations joined by a free transfer count once.
- Stations
- 10
- Subway lines
- 8
- Fully accessible
- 5 of 10
- Closest
- 77 St, 1 min walk
The 10 stations
- 77 St
- 86 St
- 68 St-Hunter College
- 86 St
- Lexington Av/63 St
- 72 St
- Lexington Av/59 St
- 96 St
- 96 St
- 5 Av/59 St
Lines
The 4, 5, 6, M, N, Q, R and W trains stop within about 0.6 mi of the Upper East Side's core.
Step-free access
- 68 St-Hunter College (6) is fully accessible.
- 86 St (Q) is fully accessible.
- Lexington Av/63 St (M Q) is fully accessible.
- 72 St (Q) is fully accessible.
- 96 St (Q) is fully accessible.
- 86 St (4 5 6) is partly accessible (one direction only).
Source: Metropolitan Transportation Authority, MTA Subway Stations, pulled 2026-10-16. Walking times are straight-line estimates from the nearest point of the Upper East Side's commercial core (the same area as the building counts), so the street route is longer. Accessibility is the MTA's rating for the named station. PATH, LIRR, Metro-North and ferries are not in this data.
Before you sign
Plain-English guides to square footage, rent and lease terms in New York, and free calculators to run your own numbers.
How much is commercial rent in NYC? Per square foot, by borough
What NYC office, retail and industrial buildings collect per square foot in each borough, from the city's own filings, with the monthly math and the costs on top of rent.
Good guy guarantee in NYC commercial leases
How a good guy guarantee works in a NYC commercial lease: what it covers, how the guarantor gets released, what to negotiate and the 2025 surrender ruling.
Retail lease terms in New York: percentage rent, escalations and more
A New York retail lease covers much more than rent. Here is what percentage rent, escalations, pass-throughs, use clauses and restaurant terms mean for you.
Questions about retail space in the Upper East Side
Is there retail space for lease in the Upper East Side right now?
Yes. 1 space for lease in the Upper East Side is listed on Leasemark now: 27 East 61st Street (9,470 SF, $159/SF/yr). On each listing page, I'm interested asks the lister for an intro, and contact details are shared once both sides accept.
How much does retail space cost in the Upper East Side?
Retail space for lease on Leasemark in the Upper East Side currently asks $159 per square foot per year. Rents depend on building class, floor, condition and lease length, so treat these as a starting point.
How do I find retail space in the Upper East Side that is not publicly listed?
Post a requirement on Leasemark. Owners and listing brokers see what you need (without your contact details) and can respond with spaces, including ones that are not on the market yet. You choose who gets an intro.
How much retail space is there in the Upper East Side?
New York City's PLUTO tax lot data (26v2) records about 7.6 million square feet of retail floor area across 1,658 properties in the part of the Upper East Side Leasemark covers. The largest by that measure is 325 East 60th Street, at about 86,000 square feet. That is the existing building stock, not space currently for lease.
How many storefronts are vacant in the Upper East Side?
Owners registered 2,670 ground- and second-floor storefronts in the part of the Upper East Side Leasemark covers for the end of 2025, and 242 of them (9.1%) stood vacant on December 31, 2025, against 9.2% citywide and 8.6% here a year earlier. The most storefronts are on First Avenue (309) and Madison Avenue (290). A vacant storefront is not always on the market: some are being renovated, held empty or already leased to a tenant who has not moved in.
Which large buildings in the Upper East Side have a vacant storefront?
Owners of 1 of the 10 large buildings Leasemark tracks in the Upper East Side with registered storefronts reported at least one vacant on December 31, 2025. It is 210 East 86th Street (2 of 2 storefronts). Each building's page shows its filings by year. A vacant storefront is not always on the market: some are being renovated, held empty or already leased to a tenant who has not moved in.
What subway lines serve the Upper East Side?
Ten subway stations sit within about 0.6 mi of the Upper East Side's commercial core, served by the 4, 5, 6, M, N, Q, R and W trains. The closest is 77 St (6), roughly 1 minute on foot; then 86 St (4 5 6), 68 St-Hunter College (6), 86 St (Q), Lexington Av/63 St (M Q), 72 St (Q), Lexington Av/59 St (N R W 4 5 6) and 3 more. Walking times are straight-line estimates from MTA station data.
Do tenants in the Upper East Side pay the NYC Commercial Rent Tax?
It depends on the address. The tax covers Manhattan premises south of the center line of 96th Street, and the Upper East Side runs up to that line: space below 96th Street is in the zone, space above it is not. A tenant owes it only when base rent for the space is $250,000 a year or more. The tax is 6% of base rent after a 35% reduction, so 3.9% of rent, with a sliding credit between $250,000 and $300,000, and the Small Business Tax Credit wipes it out for businesses with total income of $5 million or less and base rent under $500,000.
Is it free to post on Leasemark?
Yes. Posting a space or a requirement is free. Contact details are only shared when both sides accept an intro.