The deli that gives credit. The diner with the perfect burger. The clothier who knows your size. Small businesses help make New York’s neighborhoods what they are. But on many retail strips, a City Limits investigation finds, they are disappearing.

Competition from chain stores, rising commercial rents and the lingering recession are part of the pressure. But city and state policies, on everything from parking enforcement to zoning, are also squeezing small businesses.

What separates the businesses who make it from those who fail? What could government do to help mom and pop firms survive? And what will neighborhoods look like if they don’t?