Outer-borough haul

All 4 top Manhattan in business growth

Manhattan may be hot, but when it comes to new businesses, the outer boroughs are getting hotter.

A new report found that the outer four each saw a significant net growth in new businesses between 2000 and 2015 — while the number of Manhattan establishments dropped by 2 percent.

Brooklyn was up 48 percent, Queens 33 percent, The Bronx 26 percent and Staten Island 22 percent, according to a report by Comptroller Scott Stringer.

Despite its decline, Manhattan still remained home to more business establishments than Brooklyn and Queens combined — with 105,553 as of 2015.

“The growth in outer-borough businesses reflects a combination of the unaffordability of Manhattan commercial rents as well as development of new commercial districts in the other boroughs, fueled by land use and infrastructure investments by the city and state over the past 15 years,” said Kathy Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, a business-leadership nonprofit.

Overall, the number of city businesses grew from 203,698 to 237,198 over the 15-year period, a gain of more than 16 percent.

Neighborhoods labeled as gentrifying grew at the fastest rate — averaging 45 percent growth.

This included a remarkable 99 percent growth in the number of businesses in Central Harlem, 94 percent in northern Crown Heights and Prospect Heights, and 70 percent in Greenpoint and Williamsburg.

Arts, entertainment and recreation — along with accommodation and food services — were the industries that saw the largest growth in gentrifying neighborhoods.

The report also found that 22 low-income neighborhoods saw a 41 percent growth in business establishments, compared to a 12 percent increase in the city’s 33 higher-income neighborhoods.

“It tells us we’re getting closer to a five-borough economy,” said Stringer in announcing a host of related findings at the ChineseAmerican Planning Council on the Lower East Side.

“As gentrification is changing the face of our city, it’s creating both new challenges and new opportunities.”

Stringer’s report cautioned that despite the growth in businesses, many parts of the city didn’t see a similar uptick in jobs or in shops owned and operated by black and Hispanic New Yorkers.