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Major Issues for District 1




Restoration on Eldridge Street

June 20, 2005

On Eldridge Street, a historic synagogue was saved despite prohibitions against government funding to preserve houses of worship. (Read More...)



Giving the Garment Industry a Place of Their Own

November 24, 2004

Giving the Garment Industry a Place of Their Own By Gary Pang

Last May, Peter Wong, who owns Bottoms Up Inc., a clothing manufacturer that makes women’s skirts and pants in Chinatown, was forced out of his location on Canal Street after his landlord refused to renew his lease. Now Wong is paying more money for less space at another location.

And what happened to him, Wong says, is happening to dozens of other garment factories owners as well.

“In the last three years, whatever leases expired weren’t renewed,” said Wong. “They are being converted to condominiums and offices. Right now, real estate is red hot.”

Wong is one of the lucky ones; other Chinatown garment factories have moved out of the area or have simply gone out of business.

“In the city’s real estate hierarchy, garment shops know that they are at the bottom of the pecking order,” said Sarah Crean of the Garment Industry Development Corporation.

So in an effort to keep the struggling Chinatown industry alive, a coalition of union, industry, and local civic groups is pursuing an unusual solution: buying their own factory spaces.

New York Fashion Space, a non-profit development corporation, plans to buy and renovate 300,000 square feet of space in Chinatown and rent it to local clothing manufacturers and young, new designers.

Crean, whose organization is part of the group, says that local landlords often charge monthly rates of $20 to $30 per square foot and prefer short-term leases. New York Fashion Space plans to charge a rate below $20 a square foot and give tenants long-term leases so their businesses can grow over time.

“We are trying to give them large spaces where they can work in a long and secure term,” said Crean.

Beginning in the late 1990s, garment shops in Chinatown and the Lower East Side began to see raising real estate prices as nearby neighborhoods like Soho and the East Village helped raise property values. As a result, many landlords began converting their buildings into condominiums and offices in the hope of attracting wealthier tenants.

Rising real estate prices in Chinatown added another hardship for an already declining industry.

“It’s difficult to compete in an industry where overseas producers are paying wages that are so much lower,” said Jonathan Bowles from the Center for an Urban Future, http://www.nycfuture.org/ a non-profit think tank.

The September 11th terrorist attacks made the situation even worse.

For weeks after the attacks, delivery trucks were banned from entering large areas of Lower Manhattan. Garment factories did not get the daily delivery of supplies, nor could they deliver goods to their customers. Within three months, more than 40 factories closed.

Before September 11, 2001 Chinatown had 246 garment factories - 20 percent of all the clothing manufacturers in the city - and employed nearly 14,000 people in the neighborhood’s largest industry, according to a report by the Asian American Federation.

Today, some estimate that there are only about 70 garment factories left in the area.

New York Fashion Space is trying to raise $65 million to fund the project, including $25 million from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which is dispensing federal grants to help rebuild the economy of the area. It estimates that another $25 million will come from leasing spaces and loans to match public funding. The City Council has given $1.5 million to the project, and the State Assembly is considering a $3 million grant.

“The garment industry is a critical part of New York City and Chinatown’s economy,” said Maura Keaney of the Union of Needlework, Industrial, and Textile Employees. “It is important that we make sure these jobs continue to exist.”





Lower Manhattan: Banning Street Vendors from Ground Zero

March 19, 2004

By Nick Briano

Alex Blair, a street vendor and disabled Vietnam veteran, used to make $500 a day selling I LOVE NY t-shirts and miniature glass models of the Twin Towers near the World Trade Center.

Today, he’s lucky to make $50 a day.

In March, a new state law banned street vendors in lower Manhattan from setting up their tables within a five-block radius of site. Now, Blair works on the corner of Broadway and Cedar, blocks away from the crowds of tourists who still come to Ground Zero.

“This is one of the few livings I can make, and I just can’t believe that they are kicking us out,” said Blair. “This type of law can only lead to more problems for veterans like me. It’s just terrible.”

The law resulted from pressure from local storeowners, many of whom are still struggling to recover after the terrorist attacks, who complained that vendors clogged up sidewalks, diverted pedestrians into the street, and hurt business. The measure also responded to calls from victim’s families groups, residents, and business people in the area who found the September 11 memorabilia - particularly graphic photos - offensive.

“It was a problem that after September 11 grew worse,” said Michael O’Connor of the business improvement district Alliance for Downtown New York. “What took place was that people selling the caps and the World Trade disaster type of memorabilia became more plentiful.”

O’Connor said it was too early to see any significant economic change, but some area storeowners say the new law is already making a difference.

“I’m relieved that they are gone and I don’t have to hear them shouting all the time in the streets,” said Mirza Mamur, owner of Panorama’s, a custom framing shop at 189 Broadway. “I already noticed a change in my business.”

Mohammed Sheikh, who owns Photo House at 176 Broadway, agreed.

“It is better for my business and others,” Sheikh said. “I had seen vendors selling cameras and other goods that can take away from me making money.”

Some residents and people who work in the area also applaud the measure saying that they found the commercialization of September 11 inappropriate.

“They created a market place based on a national tragedy, and I don’t think that’s right,” said Dominick Romano, a commuter from Brooklyn waiting for a bus on Church Street.

Some artist groups respond that passing a law to keep people from selling something because someone finds it offensive sets a dangerous precedent.

In lower Manhattan, street vendors seem most concerned about the decline in business and fines.

James Caver, who sells September 11 items on Broadway and Church, said he recently received a $1,000 fine for setting up a table on Fulton Street.

“I’m thinking once the weather gets nice that I might move up to Penn Station and see how things work out up there,” Caver said. “I don’t have many options anymore.”

Related:

Pushcart Wars by Joshua Brustein
Selling Hotdogs, Getting Ticketed by Anwar Hussein
Selling Jewelry, Spending the Night in Jail by Aeisha





Rebuilding

July 31, 2003

Plans for rebuilding Lower Manhattan after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 include not only construction of a new World Trade Center, but re-opened streets, a transportation hub, retail shopping, and a memorial. Residents are concerned about the dust, noise, and traffic that will result from the more than a decade of construction. Many local businesses are still struggling to recover from a loss of business.



Judge Rules on Park Row Closure

July 31, 2003

After 9/11, the police department closed Park Row, Chinatown’s major north-south street, citing security concerns for the nearby police headquarters. The police department asserts that it needs a 900-foot security perimeter that is closed to traffic. Residents argue that the street is being used as a parking lot for police officers and that the closure has hampered transportation and business in the area. On Monday, August 8th, 2003, Judge Walter Tolub ruled that the police department will have to conduct an environmental impact study and remove their cars from the James Madison Park by the end of the year.




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ALL DISTRICT 1 MAJOR ISSUES
Restoration on Eldridge Street
(Jun 20, 2005)

Giving the Garment Industry a Place of Their Own
(Nov 24, 2004)

Lower Manhattan: Banning Street Vendors from Ground Zero
(Mar 19, 2004)

Rebuilding
(Jul 31, 2003)

Judge Rules on Park Row Closure
(Jul 31, 2003)

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