“The Difference” Map – NYC Yoga Studios Map 2020-2023, Primary Exhibition and Artwork

The Difference Map, NYC Yoga Studios Archive – 2023

The Difference Map Exhibition is now available to view on Google My Maps. The NYCYSA is a historical record of yoga studios in the 5 boros of NYC with special attention to the COVID-19 pandemic era (2020-2023) and its impact on the communities use of urban space. After three years of research, some maps and statistics are available for public viewing.

NYC Yoga Studios Archive map of open, relocated and closed studios in Manhattan.

**The difference legend is as follows:** The red polygon represents a closed studio, a yellow triangle represents a relocated or chain location that has closed, a green circle represents an open studio.

🗺️ The NYC Yoga Studios Archive “The Difference” Map Legend is defined as follows:

🟢 🕯️ A green circle with an Open candle means that the studio is perceived as open for in person classes as of July 2023.
⚠️ 🕯️ A yellow triangle with a closed candle means that this location has closed for in-person classes, but the brand/chain is available in another in-person form within the NYC. This layer includes chain locations that have closed or studios with a single space that have relocated within the city limits. Note there are minor exceptions. This does not include outdoor classes, pop-ups, live streaming or on demand availability.
🛑 🕯️ A red polygon with a Closed candle means that this studio is confirmed as closed with no further opportunity to take in person classes whatsoever. This is limited to in person opportunities and excludes on demand, live stream, or outdoor class availability.

Some NYC Yoga Studios Archive Statistics January 2020-July 2023 (Estimated):

🔹As of March 1, 2020, it is believed that 193 studios were in operation.
🔹Between January 2020 – July 31, 2023, it is believed that 89 of that original number have permanently closed in that location; 46 were closures/relocations in Manhattan; 39* in Brooklyn; 4* in Queens.
🔹The neighborhoods with the most closures/relocations were 8* in TriBeCa; 5 in Greenwich Village; 4 in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Greenpoint.
🔹As of July 31, 2023, 124 studios are estimated to be in operation.
🔹Since January 1, 2021, an estimate of 23 new studios have opened amongst the 5 boros, 3 new ones have opened and since closed.
🔹As of July 31, 2023, Manhattan has 56 studios; Brooklyn has 54.
🔹The neighborhoods with the most studios are Flatiron, East Village and UWS at 6, Williamsburg with 9.

🛑DISCLAIMER: This map does not claim 100% accuracy. *represents an updated statistic since this post was originally published. The archive has reached out to the studios included in this study to confirm the accuracy of this model. This map aims to depict the spatial changes of the yoga community’s use of commercial space in NYC between January 2020-July 2023. You will notice that you can hide and show the open, closed, and relocated layers on the map. It must be made clear that it is possible that closed studios in this map hold classes outdoors, outside of NYC, on demand and via live stream as of today, but that was not included as part of this specific map exhibition.

NYC Yoga Studios Archive