Left rectangle ads redesigned
Robert Ripps book
History of Tribeca Buildings
What can be done about counterfeit vendors?
The answer? It seems, after years and years of efforts from local residents and police — this post is from 2022, right after the NYPD’s big sting — not much. And ’tis really the season. The illegal vendors have been out in force lately, and I have had many messages complaining about both their density and their aggression — not personally, but in pursuit of their sale.
L., who lives not far from the corner of Broadway and Lispenard, where the thickest crowds are, sent the video below and also said that earlier this week at about 9:45p, as she was out walking her dogs, a black and silver Rolls Royce pulled up in front of her building on White and started selling fake sneakers out of the trunk.
A team of residents on Lispenard and White have been leading a concerted effort for the past 18 months, but clearly to limited effect. They have sought assistance from Councilmember Chris Marte’s office; they reach out regularly to the 1st Precinct, including to specific beat officers assigned to that area; they have talked to the parking lot operator on the corner of Lispenard and Broadway, who they know to be complicit — he allows vendors to use the lot to sell merch, and use the back of the lot as a bathroom; and they regularly file 311 reports, which they say just get marked as resolved. “There also isn’t a clear way to designate the issue in the app, as you likely know,” H. said.
“The police and the local officials have less resolve than the vendors, and it’s clear to see who is winning,” H. said. “It’s a tough idea for a simple person like me to understand — when the vendors are openly breaking the law and the strongest/most well funded police department and system in the country seems unable to deal with it.
“There is a lack of action while the problem continues to get worse. I feel strongly there should be a policy of zero tolerance. Right now it requires constant surveillance and monitoring by the police (at great cost to taxpayers) and vendors then take an inch at a time until the police finally notice again. It puts all of the burden on the police. If the city adopted zero tolerance, it would send a more clear message that if any selling takes place, it will be seized and so you get a benefit of deterrence. Whereas, currently, vendors go right back to work and they believe this is tolerated by the police and the city.”
I checked with Chris Marte’s office, and Simon Kostelanetz, his director of public affairs, said they have been working with the SoHo Broadway Initiative business improvement district, who have in turn, been “hounding” the precincts. He said it’s been somewhat successful, (though I don’t know by what measure). He did say the BID is retaining a new staff member to help regulate street vending day-to-day within their catchment area, but the BID’s southern border stops at Canal — so I don’t see how that will help us here.
The NYPD, when I asked what could be done, said the city launched the Community Link Initiative in May 2023 to address complex and chronic quality of life conditions. Their website sited Canal Street as a success story, but we all know that was short-lived.
Is there a chance for original thinking around this problem?
Readers commenting a year ago noted a couple important facts:
- It is illegal to sell counterfeit goods but it is NOT illegal to buy them. Even though the U.S. code says it is illegal to traffic in counterfeit goods, the Department of Justice states it is not a crime to purchase counterfeit goods, even if the consumer knew the goods were infringing on a trademark.
- James noted that in 2013 Councilmember Chin proposed a bill that would make it a Class A misdemeanor to purchase counterfeit merchandise, with either $1,000 fine or up to a year in jail. The mayor’s office refused to support it. The Brooklyn DA said it would not be an enforceable law, because one could not easily prove the buyer’s knowledge. The City Council committee chair refused to push the bill forward.
32 Comments
Comment:
Medium rectangle #1 (top)
Right column rectangle ads
Mega rectangle
Restaurant guide icon
Note also the west side of Church Street from White up to and including the Post Office to the North reeks of urine in the mornings.
Stinks all the time there, not just in mornings. It’s vile. Is it from the vendors? Also that area around the post office is always covered with trash. As a government building, it’s a disgrace that it is left in this state. Would be nice to have the missing trees replaced also.
You can now buy loose cannabis and pre-rolled joints on church, just south of broadway.
Church is parallel to Broadway. Perhaps you mean Canal. (See “What to do about the…” in this publication.)
What should be done is that the laws on vendors should be enforced. Do the vendors have a permit? Are they in an allowed location? Etc.
In addition, the laws against counterfeiting should be enforced. That seems to be a separate department that does such enforcing.
In all of this, the powers that be have been lax, giving the impression that such behavior is acceptable. It becomes like the lax enforcement against littering and other blights.
“Zero tolerance” is right. That requires consistent enforcement: Every time police see this happening, seize the goods, fine the vendor. Instead, I’ve so many times see police walk right by it, or even chat and joke around with the vendors. Whenever I’ve asked police about lack of enforcement, they said something to the effect that nothing will change unless those in higher office change. Or more clearly, stating that it depends on how we vote.
I recall that during the pandemic, during a night of looting and vandalizing shops in the area, there were police around in large numbers witnessing it, but who did nothing. I asked some of the officers standing around, and the answer was “We were told not to intervene”. They would not clarify this.
Also seems like the problem has to be attacked at source: Find the warehouses that are stockpiling this junk, find the producers or importers of it, and crack down on that.
Perhaps TC could reach out and interview some of the City Council members who’ve been active in seeking support for street vendors?
I believe Gale Brewer is one and there are a few others.
It would be interesting to see if they would even acknowledge that there is a problem.
Yikes! These comments/post reeks of white privilege. If you are a NY native you wouldn’t blink an eye at any sort of “counterfeit” goods being sold on canal. Long before Tribeca was gentrified it always had these vendors. Did anyone remember canal in the 70s, 80s, 90s? There are many people that are concentrated on one block- I understand wanting less congestion but who exactly is this hurting? If you want the “clean” urine-free streets of the suburbs- move there! This is a city of many cultures-the things they are selling are no different than the crap everyone buys from China on amazon. Wonder if these vendors were all white people selling their “junk” if you would have the same reaction?
Of course you’re right that these vendors have been here for decades. Fake Rolexes from a suitcase is a New York tradition! That doesn’t make it right or something we have to put up with. These people don’t pay taxes or rent. Their workers are often here on expired / tourist visas or and not allowed to be working. Much less working for criminal enterprises! The disorder and pollution of sidewalks is very serious as many people are forced to walk on Canal or Broadway, risking their lives to avoid these carpet squatting capitalists. Designers who have their work stolen are victims much like doctors or lawyers wouldn’t allow fakes to practice without punishment. This is fraud against creators. Vendors selling this way should have their goods seized and only returned if they show up for trial for sales tax evasion and public nuisance for blocking pedestrians.
This is a rerun, been played more than a dozen times. Nostalgia for edgy chaos? But you are not 18 any more and it’s definitely not cool and very tiresome.
“These comments/post reeks of white privilege. . . . If you want the “clean” urine-free streets of the suburbs- move there!”
The fact that you seem to believe that white people are the only group of people that prefer not to live and raise their families next to an open air urinal tells the reader exactly how seriously they should take your point of view. Look the shift in voting patterns in minority/immigrant-heavy neighborhoods this last election in NYC and around the country. A significant reason for this shift towards the GOP/Trump amongst working families is a failure by Democrats and the left to take people’s concerns about quality of life seriously. Maybe you don’t mind walking across crime and urine-laden streets, but the average person (including city dwellers) of ANY ethnicity does not share this viewpoint. And they don’t want to be told to either suck it up or move.
Google what kinds of horrific crimes fake merchandise supports – it is not just a quality of life issue and it’s not just a white people problem.
Would love to help.
Honest question. What can we do?
Maybe it should be illegal to buy the goods. Of course, it’s difficult to prove that a buyer knew they were illegal. But making it illegal would at least would drive home that buyers are complicit in and enabling the criminality. Beyond the violation of intellectual property law, there is evidence that buying counterfeit goods supports organized crime, and even evidence that it supports terrorism. The buyers presumably rationalize this as “victimless” behavior, but it is far from it.
See here for example: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-109shrg21823/html/CHRG-109shrg21823.htm
So you want to arrest the folks who are now selling goods that benefit from sweat shop labor?!? If anything i could careless. Gucci uses child labour, so does fendi ect… are we going to arrest gucci for thier labour practices?!?
Surely all forms of sweatshop labor should be abolished, and all those who try to profit it from should face consequences serious enough that they refrain from exploiting labor in that way. That includes both the counterfeiters and any design firms who abuse their labor force. It isn’t either/or.
It’s pretty easy to prove theses are illegal goods, when was the last time you saw a Louis Vuitton or Hermes bag being sold from a blanket on the street?
Good point. I remember there was an old interview when the interviewer asked one of the junk buyers, “Did you know these are counterfeit?” and she answered, “I thought they were stolen”. Oh, that makes it alright then!
Found the article with that quote.
https://www.amny.com/news/fashions-private-eye-targets-canal-st-s-counterfeit-bags/
The article dates back to 2008, and yet no progress has been made on this problem in the intervening 16 years. Inquiring minds want to know why….
We should continue to support and encourage them !!!
I’m surprised that the manufacturers of the goods that are being counterfeited have not actively intervened. Why would Gucci, Hermes, Rolex, Nike, etc. tolerate these blatant violations of their intellectual property rights? These corporations have the resources to investigate and then go after the ring-leader(s) who make/distribute/sell these fake goods.
I think they do fight it, but it’s apparently difficult to trace it to source and legally expensive. The designs might be subtly different in small ways to make it difficult to prove IP violation by legal standards. That’s my limited understanding.
I recall a building owner on Lispenard told me that one of the big design firms inquired about putting cameras on his building to monitor the counterfeiters, but I don’t know if anything came of it.
Perhaps others can explain better? Surely these companies would shut these operations down if they could.
And it isn’t just clothes and handbags; there is all the fake tech. Some of it can seem superficially a perfect copy, down to the packaging. Unless you really know your tech, and open it up to examine the innards, you might not realize it’s fake until it fails to perform to spec at some point, or falls apart, or explodes, or catches fire, like the fake chargers.
The manufacturers had legal leverage over the building owners when store tenants were selling counterfeits. They succeeded in getting counterfeits out of stores and on to streets. There is no leverage over peddlers or buyers of counterfeits short of new laws criminalizing the purchase of counterfeits and/or enforcement of existing criminal laws.
The City Council mostly seems to support street vendors – including adding protections and increasing licenses.
City Council not so interested in residents’ concerns.
City Council also not interested in store owners who are concerned about street vendors who undercut stores.City Council seems to forget many shops owned by immigrants.
Seems to me there is a glut of street vendors,
So increasing number of licenses will mean more competition and lower income
Voter apathy is partly to blame. We need a City Council that advocates for tax paying residents – not criminals.
I’ve witnessed police last month telling vendors “to pack it up, let’s go”, and hanging around for a few minutes while vendors on Lispenard & Canal hurry away with their goods. I’ve been to a precinct meeting with the community 12 years ago in which building owners expressed great frustration with the vending activity and how it had caused them difficulty getting into their own buildings and finding themselves cleaning up the sidewalk in front of their buildings. For which they can be fined – if not kept clean. And I experience daily interactions with vendors which run from friendly to thoughtless. I won’t get into the things that I don’t like about the selling of these things.
Though not easily verifiable, my thoughts on why it persists are this: The tourist business is an important part of the economy here. The number of new hotels and general foot traffic in lower Manhattan suggest that. A trip to Canal St for this merchandise is part of the show. If the Mayor or city council wanted this to stop, it would stop. That choice was made this year regarding the vendors on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Economies are delicate. For better or worse this apparent sideshow may have enough value as a draw in the tourism business to outweigh the frustrations of those of us who dislike it.
Where is Giuliani when we need him? And Bloomberg?!
Bloomberg is enjoying retirement, attending galas, occasionally popping up to advocate for a pet project. Giuliani is publicly raving and attending lots of meetings with lawyers to try to remain solvent.
This situation existed during both of their terms. Under Giuliani you had the seasonal addition of fireworks vendors, who were white and led people to pickup locations in Little Italy, where the residents were surprisingly accommodating.
Not sure why after all these years (been a resident since the 70s) no one has mentioned the clear, actual reason for all this. (Unless I missed it in the comments somewhere.)
Putting these people into the judicial and penal system costs taxpayer money — a lot of it.
Letting them remain on the street puts a little money in their pocket to pay for rent and groceries.
Either they are paying for their lodging and food or YOU are. Period.
People constantly resent taxation, especially raising their rate. That is the entire story from A to Z. That has always been the case, but for some reason people keep scratching their head about this.
I wonder why after all these years, at least the current version with black Africans and fake luxury goods en masse, I haven’t heard anyone asking who these people are? What’s their immigration status and how they seemed to have parachuted in on Broadway/Canal overnight at the beginning of Covid? And how are they so blatantly bold in occupying a neighborhood of their choice with no consequences?
After Bloomberg shut down all the shops ( mostly Chinese owned) on Canal selling fake bags, they morphed into ambulant vendors that they are today. There are underground warehouses all over downtown.
Visitors from Asia and Europe are amazed by this blatant phenomenon, the degree of lawlessness and chaos is truly unexpected in a ‘first world ‘ country.
Here’s a thought… Blast “Baby Shark” on repeat through large speakers day and night until they disperse. (This is inspired by Jacinda Ardern’s means of dispersing protesters back during the pandemic.)
A major concern that I don’t think is being discussed enough is that the overcrowding of the sidewalks is forcing people to walk in the streets. Eventually this is going to sadly lead to someone being seriously injured or worse. And it will have been completely preventable. I’ve been a resident for decades, but lately it seems as if this area is more crowded than ever with illegal vendors. When does this reach a breaking point?