CHINATOWN

The folks at the New York City Human Rights Initiative sent over an advisory about a bus tour today to criticize a set of Bloomberg administration development initiatives brewing right now. "All of the stops will focus on projects which in some way divide communities, displace longtime residents, and deny their right to adequate housing and jobs," the advisory says.

The stops: Willets Point, Harlem, Chinatown, and Sunset Park (where a mostly contextual rezoning is planned).  read more »

At 6 tonight, the Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side plans to rally against what now appears to be the inevitable rezoning of the East Village just to the north.

The group has labeled the rezoning a "racist" plan to limit building heights and essentially abolish the community benefits incentive in 110 blocks of the East Village and Lower East Side. Last week, the Department of City Planning certified the proposal, giving Community Board 3 60 days to review it before it goes to the borough president and the City Council. The Coalition wants to send the rezoning plan back to the drawing board to include the area south of Delancey Street and East of Avenue D.  read more »

The Department of City Planning is forging ahead with its plan to rezone 114 blocks of the East Village and the Lower East Side to limit the height and density of future development, despite allegations of racism from community groups in the Bowery and Chinatown, which were not included in the rezoning.  read more »

“If we do not have [a Business Improvement District], we’ll be like Cinderella stuck downstairs while the rest of the city is having a party, and we will still be filthy and stinking,” said the executive director of the Chinatown Partnership, Wellington Chen.

A Chinatown BID is not a new idea. The proposal has been around for about 20 years, said Mr. Chen, and he has been promoting the BID since well before the Partnership even came into existence after Sept. 11.

But with Chinatown’s economy still in tatters since then and the specter of gentrification looming larger than ever, the BID is gaining urgency for advocates and becoming a target for opponents.  read more »

It's budget chic in Chinatown!

Developer Derek Law will build a 12-story, 43-room "boutique-style hotel" on Allen Street, between Canal and Division streets, with plans to welcome guests in 2010.

Mr. Law, who submitted the permit to the Buildings Department today, has built one another hotel, a Howard Johnson in Flushing, Queens.

"We are going to emphasize the décor of the rooms and our guest service," said Mr. Law, of the yet-unnamed Chinatown inn.

Mr. Law said that high-end service won't come with a Penninsula-size price tag: "It will be like economy or mid-market."  read more »

On Broadway and Canal Street things appeared normal the day after the NYPD raided what it dubbed “the counterfeit triangle” of Chinatown. Tourists milled around, trying on the knock-off sunglasses and stroking the rows of fake bags hanging on the walls.

(As an aside, the word "counterfeit" implies the copies actually resemble the original and the goods on display in Chinatown would not fool even the most casual readers of Vogue.)

“Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada. What do you want? I got it all,” one man offered not so surreptitiously.

When I approached another vendor to ask about yesterday’s events, he asked me in a thick Chinese accent if I wanted to buy a designer bag. A few stalls had sheets draped across portions of their merchandise.  read more »

Great N.Y. Noodletown is a long-established restaurant on Bayard and the Bowery that seats about forty and has brown glazed ducks in the windows.

Sunday, which began bright and cold after a long and rainy Saturday, seemed perfectly suited to a bowl of Seaweed Noodle Soup, so I put on my shoes and began walking east. I had forgotten it was Chinese New Year: the sidewalks of central Chinatown were packed from storefront to street as people gathered to celebrate the Year of the Earth Rat.  read more »

The new landlord of an old Chinatown shop that was repeatedly raided by counterfeit-merch cops this past summer has counter-sued the city for $8.5 million in damages.The offending retailer, known as G.T. Trading, has since been booted from the premises, located at 196 Grand Street, and the landlord claims to have even removed the former tenant's secret stash room.

Yet, an ongoing court injunction prevents the owner from leasing out the now-vacant 400-square-foot space and may further cause the owner to default on his mortgage, according to court papers.  read more »

The tavernization of Chinatown continues.

Page Six is reporting that adult-film icon Jenna Jameson and fashion designer Richie Rich are opening a new bar in Chinatown.

Exactly where the article doesn't say. It only provides this hint:

"It used to be a whorehouse," Richie told Page Six.

Called The General Store, the new nightspot will sell clothing in addition to booze. The bar is slated to open in 2008.