12 photos of New York City's quickly disappearing small businesses

James and Karla Murray/Store Fronts II

New York is a city of neighborhoods, and perhaps nothing tells the story of a neighborhood's character better than the small, family-owned businesses that operate there.

However, with skyrocketing rent and a crippling commercial rent tax, many of these business owners are struggling to pay the monthly bills. Many of these small businesses end up closing to make way for the larger chains and big-box retailers who can afford the rent. In 2015, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer argued in an op-ed that since the 1970s, "the mom-and-pop crisis has intensified with a fury."

No two photographers have zeroed in on the issue quite like James and Karla Murray. Together the couple has made it their mission to document the city's many unique storefronts and conduct interviews with various business owners. 

The resulting work has been compiled into two books: "Store Front: The Disappearing Face Of New York", and "Store Front II - A History Preserved". Ahead, a selection from their most recent release.

The Murrays began photographing New York City streets in the mid-1990s. Upon returning to various neighborhoods, they began noticing that multiple businesses had been shuttered in short periods of time, or that shiny, new plastic awnings had replaced old-style signage.

"We made it our mission to thoroughly document the small, unique 'mom and pop' stores of the city when we first began to notice the alarming rate at which these shops were disappearing," the Murrays told Business Insider.

The storefronts' hand-painted and neon signs, architectural adornment, and handmade window displays attract the eye.