NYC Small Business Services Partners with Harlem One Stop for Assessment of West Harlem Commercial Corridors

Our neighborhood’s commercial corridors are more than streets lined with shops—they are places where culture lives, neighbors connect, and local businesses tell the story of our community. From corner stores and cafés to cultural institutions and service providers, these corridors reflect who we are and where we are going.

To ensure that our commercial corridors remain vibrant, inclusive, and responsive to community needs, NYC Small Business Services and Harlem One Stop are launching a Commercial Corridor Project focused on hearing directly from residents. At the heart of this effort is a community survey, and your voice is essential.

Why This Project Matters

Like many neighborhoods across New York City, our commercial corridors are experiencing change. Rising costs, shifting consumer habits, storefront vacancies, and redevelopment pressures affect residents and small businesses alike. While these changes can bring new opportunities, they can also create challenges—especially if community voices are not centered in the planning process.

This project aims to:

• Understand how residents currently use and experience the corridor
• Identify gaps in services, retail, and amenities
• Capture community priorities around affordability, culture, safety, and accessibility
• Inform future investments, programming, and policy decisions

The information collected will help guide strategies that support small businesses, preserve neighborhood character, and ensure the corridor works for the people who live here.

Why We Need Your Input

Too often, decisions about neighborhood development are made without enough direct community input. This survey is a chance to change that.

Your responses will:

• Influence recommendations shared with funders, city agencies, and stakeholders
• Help advocate for resources that reflect real community needs
• Ensure residents—not just data or outside perspectives—help shape outcomes

Whether you shop along the corridor every day or only occasionally, your perspective matters.

What the Survey Covers

The survey is short and confidential, and includes questions about:

• Where and how you shop locally
• What types of businesses or services you’d like to see
• Your experiences with the corridor today
• What would make the corridor more welcoming and useful for residents

There are no right or wrong answers—only your lived experience.

Be Part of the Process

This Commercial Corridor Project is about building a future that reflects the community’s past, present, and aspirations. Taking a few minutes to complete the survey is a simple but powerful way to participate in that process.

Together, we can ensure that our commercial corridors continue to serve residents, support local businesses, and remain places of culture, connection, and opportunity.

Harlem One Stop, a community-based nonprofit organization rooted in West Harlem, is leading the Commercial Corridor Project to ensure that neighborhood voices are at the center of future planning and investment. As a recipient of funding from NYC Small Business Services’ (SBS) Avenue NYC program for Fiscal Year 2026, Harlem One Stop is conducting a Commercial District Needs Assessment (CDNA) in Hamilton Heights–West Harlem, in partnership with SBS.

Please take the survey and share it with your neighbors. Your voice helps shape what comes next.
Survey: English Spanish