The Person Behind
the Signal
18+ years in NYC commercial real estate. A career built in the trenches of brokerage. 300+ corridors tracked. One mission: give growing brands the same intelligence the biggest players take for granted.
Blake Mercer
Founder, Retail Signal
Blake spent 18 years inside NYC commercial real estate — first as a leasing agent in Midtown, then as a senior tenant rep broker specializing in retail corridors across Brooklyn, Queens, and Lower Manhattan. He closed hundreds of deals ranging from single-location restaurant operators to multi-unit franchise rollouts, and watched the same pattern repeat itself every time: tenants walking into negotiations without the intelligence they needed to win.
In 2024, he left brokerage to go independent. Not to chase commissions — but to take the tenant's side completely. Retail Signal is the result: a flat-fee advisory practice built entirely around giving operators, brand founders, and franchise groups the market intelligence and lease expertise they need before they sign anything.
Blake holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from NYU Stern and an MBA from Fordham University's Gabelli School of Business. He is a New York State Licensed Real Estate Broker. His corridor coverage spans 300+ retail blocks across all five boroughs, with deep specialization in QSR, fitness and wellness concepts, and neighborhood retail in emerging outer-borough markets.
He has been invited to speak at NYC commercial real estate industry events on the evolving lease landscape and the gap between institutional landlord intelligence and tenant readiness — a gap Retail Signal was built to close.
Who You're Working With
A focused team of NYC retail specialists — every engagement gets senior-level attention, not a junior hand-off.
Maya Reyes
Senior Lease Advisor
Maya spent 14 years on the landlord side — as an in-house leasing manager for a mid-size NYC property portfolio covering 40+ retail spaces across Manhattan and Brooklyn. She knows how landlords structure lease terms, where they build in margin, and exactly which clauses tenants routinely miss. At Retail Signal, she leads all NYC Lease Check engagements, bringing a perspective most tenant advisors simply don't have.
Jordan Park
Market Intelligence Analyst
Jordan comes from a data and urban planning background — he built retail foot traffic models at a NYC-based proptech firm before joining Retail Signal. He manages the corridor tracking database, monitors vacancy trends across all five boroughs, and produces the market intelligence that underpins every Expansion Strategy engagement. If there's a trend forming in an outer-borough corridor, Jordan sees it before it's in the news.
Background That
Backs the Advice
Education
BS Finance — NYU Stern School of Business
MBA — Fordham University, Gabelli School of Business
License
New York State Licensed Real Estate Broker
Licensed commercial real estate professional
Experience
18+ years in NYC commercial real estate
300+ retail corridors tracked across all 5 boroughs
Speaking
Industry speaker — NYC retail lease market trends
Topics: tenant readiness, corridor intelligence, evolving lease terms
Level the Playing Field
for NYC Retail.
The biggest brands have dedicated real estate teams, market research firms, and legal counsel. Independent operators and growing brands don't — and they pay the price.
Retail Signal packages the same quality of market intelligence and deal expertise into accessible, focused advisory sessions. Whether you're scouting a first location or reviewing a tenth lease, you get a knowledgeable second set of eyes before you commit.
How We Work
Clarity Over Jargon
No broker-speak. Every insight is written to be understood and actionable — not impressive-sounding.
Independence First
Retail Signal is advisory, not brokerage. We don't represent a deal — we represent your interest in making the right decision.
NYC-Specific Depth
Deep knowledge of Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx retail corridors — not generic national market analysis.
The Right Intelligence
Changes the Outcome.
Get NYC-specific retail expertise in your corner before your next big decision.