Counter to popular belief, chain stores are not taking Manhattan

To moan about the replacement of neighborhood mom and pops with chain stores is almost a requirement for NYC residents, and that complaint may hold water in Queens, Brooklyn and other outer boroughs of the city, but according to the just-released "The "State of the Chains" report from The Center for an Urban Future, the total count of chain stores actually went down in the borough of Manhattan this year — falling from 2,971 to 2904.