Little Italy “A Ghost Town”

According to A Current Affair, the once bustling shopping strip known as the heart of Sydney’s Little Italy is now “a ghost town”.

As cafés and small businesses are “struggling to stay afloat” and many decide to shut their doors in the Inner West suburb of Leichhardt, the “decreasing vibrancy” means “now things have changed”. “We’ve lost the Italian vibe. It’s not like it used to be”, said Con, owner of Bar Italia.

With prices going up and inflation rampant across the country, “more than a dozen empty shops have ‘For Sale’ or ‘For Lease’ signs” along Norton Street, “some sitting vacant for years”.

Inner West Council Mayor, Darcy Byrne appeared on Channel 9 claiming that “one of the major problems has been a significant number of landlords who are not willing to keep their properties tenanted. They are using them as tax write-offs”.

Owners seem to rather keep premises empty than risk a lower return. “[This] brings down the tone of the entire main street”, said Clr Byrne.

The ‘Piazza’ of the Italian Forum also featured on the program. “Designed to be a cultural hub, a place where people could eat, drink, shop and even live has become a symbol of urban decay.”

Once thriving when it first opened in the early 2000s, but now, “many of the shop fronts are empty and have been for a longtime”, said Clr Byrne.

The Mayor is calling on the NSW Premier to introduce a “Vacancy Tax” so landlords would be rewarded for leasing to local business tenants while “increasing rates by the same amount for those landlords who don’t do the right thing.”

Residents have suggested bringing “artists, markets and fairs” to boost the vibe of the suburb, however the NSW Small Business Commissioner argued that “greater density housing” would bring a fresh client base to local businesses.