SEE ALSO: Tanger\u2019s Justin Stein On Leveraging Data and Gnoshes to Grow a Retail Portfolio<\/a><\/p>\n The Lee leasing team, made up of Peter Braus, Paul Popkin, Eric Levine, Morris Dweck and Annie Squier, also believes it\u2019s a source of untapped potential.<\/p>\n The move to modernize the portfolio comes as Seward\u2019s board seeks to capitalize on its neighborhood\u2019s changing retail landscape while reducing its own operational costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs the neighborhood continues to evolve, we recognized an opportunity to take a more cohesive and strategic approach to our retail portfolio,\u201d Wei-Li Tjong, president of the co-op\u2019s board of directors, said in a statement. \u201cWe were looking for a team that not only understood the market, but also appreciated the unique character and long-term needs of the Seward Park community. Lee & Associates NYC brings both the institutional leasing expertise and neighborhood understanding to help guide the next chapter of the portfolio.\u201d<\/p>\n Seward\u2019s more than 1,600 units contain over 5,500 residents, generations of whom have watched the Lower East Side\u2019s retail market transform over the last six decades. That includes its most recent phase of development that yielded new commercial neighbors, including Essex Market, a Trader Joe\u2019s, a Lidl and a Target.<\/p>\n Seward\u2019s own commercial holdings stand largely independent from its towers, lining the community\u2019s borders and offering a level of flexibility not available within most of the co-op\u2019s ground-floor retail. Current tenants are a mix of food and beverage operators and local service providers, including Donut Plant, Kossar\u2019s Bagels & Bialys, The Pickle Guys, Citibank and Apple Bank.<\/p>\n Such an array of retail held totally by co-op shareholders is rare, Levine said. Other legacy co-op buildings that once had comparable portfolios sold off their assets over the years. The 80\/20 federal tax law long restricted the income co-ops could derive from non-shareholder sources, like storefronts and parking garages, to 20 percent. That law was changed in 2007 and became essentially obsolete, but co-ops across the city had already offloaded much of their retail to comply. Not Seward, however.<\/p>\n The Lee team is already marketing a restaurant space at 359 Grand Street, formerly occupied by neighborhood cafe Eva\u2019s Kitchen on Grand, which closed last year. The space spans approximately 1,145 square feet on the ground floor, with an additional 1,019-square-foot lower level.<\/p>\n The recent decision to hire a commercial brokerage for the task of institutionalizing the fragmented retail portfolio may be a first for the decades-old co-op, according to Levine. Levine, who joins the Lee leasing team from his brokerage FIND Real Estate, is also a longtime Seward resident and shareholder.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was generally thought of that this is sort of the town center for the cooperative,\u201d Levine said.\u201d And patrons from around the Lower East Side shop here, but it was never really the focus as, day to day, the board and the management of the cooperative have largely been focused on the operations of the residential aspect of the property.\u201d<\/p>\n One impetus for the change in strategy was the arrival of high-end, high-traffic retail developments into the neighborhood. Namely, Essex Crossing, the billion-dollar, 6-acre megaproject down the street from Seward, which opened a 30-vendor market<\/a> in 2019.<\/p>\n The trendy, secondary high streets of the Lower East Side and the East Village have long attracted edgy bars, experimental restaurants and boutique storefronts, but brokers told the Wall Street Journal<\/a> last year that retailers have upped the ante on their real estate aspirations in the two neighborhoods, where one listing can draw five to 10 offers in a matter of days. Citywide, New York\u2019s retail market sustained strong leasing momentum in 2025, during which availability hit a 10-year low, according to Cushman & Wakefield data<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Lower East Side and East Village remain in recovery mode, however. Storefront data published by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce in December<\/a> found that the Lower East Side and East Village had the second-highest vacancy rates among Manhattan\u2019s community districts, with a 15.43 percent vacancy, second only to Lower Manhattan\u2019s 22.11 percent.<\/p>\n Seward has a dense residential population to recommend itself, however, with nearby subway stops and high foot traffic to boot, and its retail strip already has cachet among local foodies. But, by repositioning the portfolio, the Lee team said it wants to give Seward a brand.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still want to service the community with what\u2019s needed, but we also want to bring in larger brands and make it also a destination for other people to come visit,\u201d Lee\u2019s Popkin said.<\/p>\n![\"Storefronts](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Seward-Park-retail1-credit-Lee-Associates-NYC.jpg\" "\\"One")
Storefronts owned by Seward Park Cooperative. PHOTO: Courtesy Lee & Associates NYC<\/p>\n