With the advent of lower prices, lower demand and diminished pedestrian traffic I have been told by some of the legitimate merchants on Canal Street that a few individuals have resorted to selling drugs rather than selling illegal knock-offs. To view my concern as racist, sexist, corporatist or any other "ist" is just plain silly. — Larry Fink on A Food Hall Is Opening on Canal Street

No, not at all, in fact I believe there should be more regulation to prevent the extreme income disparities in our country; nevertheless, I believe intellectual property and trademark law is important. There are other legitimate ways for immigrants to make a living. — Marcus on A Food Hall Is Opening on Canal Street

Viva! — robert janz on The Water Painter

Ironic and sad if indeed the whistle-blower is itself guilty of the same wrong; nevertheless, such hypocrisy does not negate the reality of the problem. If anything, it shows how pervasive the issue really is. It is time to consider laws (such as are present in other cities) to protect and favor unique and smaller local businesses which add value to the community. Chain stores and corporations always have the advantage of leverage, since they can operate a given branch at a loss until such time as they put locals out of business. That advantage has to be balanced against the values of local businesses and what best serves the community. — Marcus on Ghost Town: The Growing Number of Vacant Storefronts in Tribeca

marcus, are you a shareholder in luxury good companies? or do you just generally want to further concentration of wealth? why are you opposed to this form of wealth redistribution from corporate behemoths to immigrants who make a tiny bit of cash. david fink, why do you find it "unpleasant" to be approached? do you think they are going to rob you? racist. — BEN on A Food Hall Is Opening on Canal Street

Indeed, why aren't these counterfeit stores just shut down for good? — Marcus on A Food Hall Is Opening on Canal Street

The Internet is even eating into the Canal Street counterfeiters' sales! Village Voice Knockoff: Another Day at the Office — on Canal Street With Counterfeit Vendors WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2016 AT 9:45 A.M. BY ALICE HINES [...] "Canal Street became a destination for counterfeits in the 1980s. First came Rolexes, then Swiss Army knives, and finally, around 2000, bags, remembers Ching Yeh Chen, president of Pearl River Mart, the iconic Chinatown emporium that occupied a two-story location on Canal and Broadway from 1986 to 2003. "The Bloomberg administration brought with it a crackdown on Canal Street counterfeits. In 2008, police raided 32 stores, confiscating over $1 million worth of ersatz Coach bags, Oakley sunglasses, and Rolex watches. That year, 967 people were arrested for trademark counterfeiting in the 1st and 5th precincts, which surround the street, according to New York State's Division of Criminal Justice Services. Since then business has declined — in 2015, only 257 people were arrested for trademark counterfeiting in those precincts — although vendors say that's not because of a crackdown so much as decreased demand. "'People are buying fakes on the internet,' Kalidou, a vendor from the Central African Republic, told me, in French. 'Anyone who's here now is late.' Fewer shoppers means less business to go around. [...] "On a busy Saturday before Christmas, a vendor might make $400. On a decent day, he'll make $100. On the worst days, a cop will spot him and he'll end up with a fine — $250 if he's charged with unlicensed general vending, a violation, or up to $1,000 if he's charged with trademark counterfeiting in the third degree, a misdemeanor." http://www.villagevoice.com/news/knockoff-another-day-at-the-office-on-canal-street-with-counterfeit-vendors-8626379 — James on A Food Hall Is Opening on Canal Street

JANZ WATER BREAKS BIRTHING NEW ART WORKS BIG BANG(IN) BARCELONA — Francisco Pabon on The Water Painter

This is very positive news. I am really astounded that there is not more pressure by the community and neighboring legitimate stores to curtail the illegal knock-offs that are regularly sold on Canal Street. I find it extremely unpleasant when I am approached by hawkers and generally avoid walking on Canal Street. — Larry Fink on A Food Hall Is Opening on Canal Street

See also http://www.villagevoice.com/news/the-paper-of-wreckage-6413310 — James on Ghost Town: The Growing Number of Vacant Storefronts in Tribeca

Ah, the good old NY Times. The Times was perfectly happy to move into a new skyscraper whose developer (i) drove out the longstanding occupants of the buildings that were then demolished; (ii) did so using the government's power of eminent domain; and, (iii) enjoyed plenty of taxpayer subsidies to do so. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/25/nyregion/blight-some-home-others-concern-over-displacement-new-times-building.html "Blight is not all that would disappear from the block in the wake of this project, however. So would the fedoras, porkpies, homburgs and boaters at Arnold Hatters; the $600-a-yard French hand-beaded lace, delicate as hoarfrost, at B & J Fabrics; the studios where students learn audio engineering and multimedia production at the SAE Institute of Technology; and the dorm rooms at Sussex House, around the corner, where a few of them sleep at night." — James on Ghost Town: The Growing Number of Vacant Storefronts in Tribeca

"we did admire the swimming pool complex, built in 1936—it’s where the reservoir used to be. The purpose of those pyramid things in the middle eluded us" From 'Highbridge Play Center, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, Designation List 395 LP-2237': "The swimming pool has two pyramidal intake units that circulate water through the filtration system located under the bleachers on the north side of the complex. These intakes are sited where fountains that originally aerated the pool water once stood." http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/Highbridge_pool.pdf — James on Field Trip: The High Bridge

i hope the valet service helps. i gave up on citibike after two years because of blocked docks and more importantly the lack of bikes downtown at night. citibike moves our bikes uptown for the morning rush. there are three stations near city hall and they are almost always empty by 11pm. — safe as milk on Seen & Heard: Citi Bike Valet Service

thanks for the link. fascinating history. — safe as milk on In the News: A Rash of Counterfeit Cash

So, I finally made it. I recommend taking the 4 train to 170th St, walking across the bridge to Manhattan, and then getting on the 1 train at 168th St home. It was a fun, easy outing with kids, and we stopped for good pizza in Washington Heights. — Dan Kohn on Field Trip: The High Bridge

The Times just published an article on a related issue, the disappearing unique businesses, which are either typically replaced by chain stores, or left vacant: New York’s Disappearing Storefronts http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/27/opinion/new-yorks-disappearing-storefronts.html?smid=fb-nytopinion&smtyp=cur&_r=0 — Marcus on Ghost Town: The Growing Number of Vacant Storefronts in Tribeca

History of 121 Chambers St / 103 Reade St here: http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2015/12/no-121-chambers-street-no-103-reade.html — James on In the News: A Rash of Counterfeit Cash

Good for Famous Famiglia! — A on Seen & Heard: Citi Bike Valet Service

merci' buckets to all. ooops!!! my bucket just tipped over!!! now I;ll have to do another spilled drawing! quick!!! — robert janz on The Water Painter

The Citibike valet is spectacularly good news. It means the end of being "dock blocked". They offer it now in Bowling Green. — Dan Kohn on Seen & Heard: Citi Bike Valet Service

The groundhog is adorable. Hope he/she stays around. — Marcus on Seen & Heard: Our Friendly Neighborhood Groundhog

In defense of John, whenever I see a cluster of brick buildings that look exactly the same, I immediately assume they're housing projects. It has nothing to do with racism. It has to do with living in NYC and knowing what a NYC housing project looks like. — lowphat on The Seaport Is Getting a Big, Serious Pizzeria

The LinkNYC project is basically removing the remaining telephone booths in the city, and replacing them with high speed Wi-Fi hotspots, w/advertising, free browsing and free calls. It's a project by CityBridge - a consortium of Qualcomm, CoMark and Intersection ... the last of which was a merger between Control Group and Titan. Effectively phone booth ads out, and Titan gets digital ads everywhere, and phone calls are replaced with free calling as long as you have a headset. Oh, and you can charge your phone at these stations. Links are currently seen most prominent along 3rd Ave and 8th Ave. https://link.nyc/find-a-link.html. They will soon blanket the city. The Wi-Fi speeds are legitimately awesome. — alee on Seen & Heard: Our Friendly Neighborhood Groundhog

think I need to get on a plane and come visit Robert... — Trevor Pollard on The Water Painter

Roberto, Biso-man and the glyph gang have deposited some transitory wonders in our neighborhood. Thanks!!! — Ken Brown on The Water Painter