#450 NYC businesses damaged during George Floyd protests

An estimated 450 Big Apple businesses were looted or damaged during recent protests over the police custody death of George Floyd, city officials estimate.

Those merchants saw looting and other “storefront damage” from May 29 to June 9 as mostly peaceful but sometimes violent demonstrations swept the five boroughs, according to the Department of Small Business Services.

Agency officials are still evaluating the cost of the damage, press secretary Samantha Keitt said Thursday. The number of businesses could also change as officials continue to compile data, she said.

Looters taking advantage of massive protests against police brutality following Floyd’s death slammed trendy shopping districts such as Soho and Midtown along with smaller business corridors in the Bronx.

The damages and theft could cost city merchants tens of millions of dollars, adding to the financial burden imposed by the coronavirus crisis, experts told The Post last week.

Mayor Bill de Blasio imposed a curfew last week to clamp down on the looting, but the measure led to increased tensions between protesters and police, who were seen beating demonstrators with little to no apparent provocation.

Looting has struck other big cities amid a nationwide push for police reform sparked by Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis. Looters likely did more than $400 million worth of damage in the nation’s 20 largest metropolitan areas from May 29 to June 3, according to an estimate from Anderson Economic Group.