NEW YORK STATE - In New York, the "Retail Apocalypse" is hitting the state with surgical precision. It isn't just about random closures; it is a dismantling of the "middle-class" anchors that defined the suburbs and the city boroughs for decades.
As 2026 begins, the Empire State is facing a historic contraction. From the closure of an outdoor lifestyle icon in SoHo to the shuttering of nine department store pillars from Long Island to Rochester, the map is being redrawn.
Here is the breakdown of the retail shakeup hitting New York in 2026.
The Macy's Massacre: 9 Stores Confirmed
The biggest story of 2026 is the sheer scale of the Macy's retreat. The retailer’s "Bold New Chapter" strategy (closing 150 stores) hits New York harder than almost any other state.
- The Hit List: Nine locations have been identified for closure:
- Long Island: Sunrise Mall (Massapequa), Melville Mall (Huntington), and Lake Success (New Hyde Park).
- NYC Boroughs: Queens Place (Elmhurst), Sheepshead Bay (Brooklyn), 422 Fulton St (Brooklyn), Fordham Place (Bronx), and the Staten Island Furniture gallery.
- Upstate: The Mall at Greece Ridge (Rochester).
- The Impact: This is a retail earthquake. The closure of the Fulton Street and Queens Place locations rips the heart out of two of the busiest diverse shopping districts in the city, while the Long Island closures signal the final end of the "traditional mall" era for Nassau and Suffolk counties.
The "Lifestyle" Exit: REI Leaves SoHo
While Macy's leaves the malls, the "experience" economy is failing in Manhattan.
- The Closure: REI has confirmed it will close its massive flagship store in SoHo (Puck Building) in late 2026.
- The Significance: When REI opened in SoHo, it was seen as the future of physical retail—a place to test gear and build community. Its exit proves that even the most experiential brands cannot sustain the astronomical rents and operational costs of lower Manhattan in the current economy.
The Mall Funeral: Sunrise Mall (Massapequa)
For the Sunrise Mall, the writing has been on the wall for years, but 2026 marks the end.
- The Final Nail: The confirmed closure of Macy’s removes the last reason for the mall to exist as a shopping destination.
- The Future: With Urban Edge Properties already pivoting the site away from retail (and facing zoning battles over housing), the mall enters 2026 as a "dead man walking." It is no longer a mall; it is a future industrial or commercial park waiting for the bulldozers.
The Discount Wipeout: Big Lots
The collapse of the home discount sector has landed hard in the Capital Region and Upstate.
- The Retreat: Big Lots is aggressively shrinking its New York footprint. Following a bankruptcy restructuring that flagged the Capital Region for a total exit, the chain is effectively vanishing from the state's suburban strips.
- The Result: For residents in Albany, Troy, and Syracuse, the loss of Big Lots removes a primary option for affordable furniture and pantry staples, leaving massive vacancies in plazas that are already struggling to find tenants.
The Grocery & Pharmacy Pinch
Essential services are also contracting in 2026.
- Price Chopper: The grocery chain is closing its Gloversville store, a significant hit to the Fulton County community that relies on it for fresh food access.
- Walgreens: The chain's "footprint optimization" includes the closure of the Lexington Avenue (Duane Reade) in NYC and the Genesee Street location in Syracuse, continuing the trend of pharmacy deserts growing in both urban and upstate neighborhoods.
The boroughs are losing their department stores. SoHo is losing its flagship. And Long Island is losing its malls. The state is becoming a place of extremes: ultra-luxury on Fifth Avenue and basic necessities at Target, with the entire "middle market" vanishing in between.
REI closing three stores: New York City SoHo, Boston, Paramus New Jersey
