You can now buy loose cannabis and pre-rolled joints on church, just south of broadway. — Thomas on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

Warren Hotel Restaurant & Bar charges $1 additional if you ask for a big ice....unbelievable! — winston on Seen & Heard: The Tribeca Citizen, on the rocks

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. — James on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

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. — Marcus on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

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. — Marcus on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

Why all the shade for the cocktail? Warren Street Hotel has fabulous cocktails, I’m sure this is delicious. Go find Baker at the bar, he’s the best. — Trisha on Seen & Heard: The Tribeca Citizen, on the rocks

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 — SAT on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

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. — SW on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

We should continue to support and encourage them !!! — Tommy on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

Zacapa 23 is very high quality rum and yes, people still drink rum. What an odd thing to add to your post. — Stefanie on Seen & Heard: The Tribeca Citizen, on the rocks

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. — ok on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

I think this article does not address the problem. The smoke shop is a licensed vape store. It does not sell weed. Its been there since 2016. The problem is that illegal street vendors who are independent of the store and work for them selves covet that corner. They have been selling counterfeit on that corner before there was ever a smoke shop all the way back in the late 1990's. The problem is since selling weed in the street seems to be unenforceable by the sheriff department and NYPD, the illegal street vendors set up shop in broad daylight selling weed and displaying their goods on fold up tables on the side walk in front of legal smoke shops. The smoke shop was temporally closed by the sheriff's department but the judge dismissed the case cause no weed was found or sold in the store. Christopher Marte's office and rest of the city council should let the police to their job by creating new legislation to go after drug dealers selling weed on the street by making it an arrest-able crime and confiscate the weed. Which they are not allowed to do at the current moment. Below is a petition I started trying to address illegal street vending on Canal. The smoke shop is working with the NYPD by giving them real time access to the surveillance cameras that are recording all the activities on the corner. https://chng.it/YgywVDwLCW — Raphael on What’s to do about the few remaining illegal smoke shops?

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.... — Marcus on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

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! — Marcus on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

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? — S on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

The headline says "few" but I haven't seen any others. Are there? — mulciber on What’s to do about the few remaining illegal smoke shops?

It seems like a really biased response. Chris Marte was at the Tribeca town hall last week, advocating for our community. His team helped my building get our gas turned on after Con Edison spent months ignoring the board. — Jackson on Candidates are lining up for City Council elections

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?!? — David green on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

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 — Marcus on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

Would love to help. Honest question. What can we do? — Randy on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

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? — R.M. on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

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. — sala on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

"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. — Marcus on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

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. — Marcus on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?

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. — Marcus on What can be done about counterfeit vendors?