There is nothing quite like Canal Street. Loud, noisy, and dirty, Canal Street represents the real new york, not the giuliani/bloomberg disneyfied version of it. It is a crush of humanity that is part tourist trap, part strip mall, and part dividing line. Weeks after September 11, 2001, the city turned all of downtown into a "no-go" zone for non-residents. Canal Street was choosen as the demarkation line partially because it was a convenient straight line on a map; (Chinatown) neighborhood boundaries were not taken into consideration. As a hand-to-mouth working community, Chinatown was dealt a severe blow as business and tourism completely disappeared overnight.

01 Mar 2002 Canal Street is one big traffic nightmare. A lot of the traffic on this street consists of trucks from Brooklyn, and Long Island destined for New Jersey. Most could travel a more direct route over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into Staten Island, and then over the Goethals Bridge into New Jersey, but they do not. The reason? A one-way toll for westbound traffic across the Verrazano. Most simply skirt the fee to use the Manhattan Bridge-Canal Street-Holland Tunnel route for free. The result? Heavy pollution, and terrible congestion for downtown residents. [Footnote 2].
	16 Feb 2002 Canal Street around The Bowery is known for its many jewelry shops and banks. A solid gold Buddha for sale in a jewelry store.
	16 Feb 2002 Mahayana Buddhist Temple located in front of Manhattan Bridge plaza.
	20 Feb 2002 Manhattan Bridge Plaza.
	14 Jan 2007 Corner of Canal, and Wooster. Canal Street features an interesting mix of businesses both old and new. You can buy handbags, souvenirs, expensive gold and diamond jewelry, tattoo supplies, automobile stereo components, industrial fans, plastic and art supplies, and name brand mattresses.
	01 Sept 2007 "Watches watches rolex movado, miss?". I don't know if it's the unlicensed peddling, or the counterfeits, or them blocking the sidewalk that the police are aiming for when they make them 23 skidoo off the streets every so often.
	01 Sept 2007 Selling coconuts
	25 July 2008 New construction is everywhere in New York City. This is just one of them on the corner of Canal, and Eldridge St.
	02 Mar 2002 This is the Canal Street that most people will remember; large crowds, noise, traffic, and lest we not forget... fake watches, and handbags!!! [Footnote 1].
Canal St New York Chinatown NYC Canal Street NY Manhattan map visitor maps tourist info information 紐約 中華街, 唐人街 ニューヨーク, チャイナタウン photo images photography photos Flushing Brooklyn china town pictures manhatan

NYC: Chinatown
by SoundWalk, 2003. Audio CD, 55 minutes.

"...If you can't make the trek to New York City, this is the closest you can come to first-hand experience of the sights, sounds, and personalities of the Lower East Side... Guided by a local personality, packed full of interviews, insights, recollections, and cinematic sound effects... This walking tour gives you the inside scoop on Chinatown's opium dens, sweatshops, Buddhist Temples, Chinese Mobsters, and more." --publisher's summary

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Footnote 1:
An article on Canal Street counterfeits. "The Knockoff Squad." Adam Fifield, New York Times. Jun 23, 2002

Footnote 2:
·Politics and history behind downtown truck traffic an editorial by Carl Rosenstein (SoHo Journal).
·Proposed billion dollar freight rail tunnel that can ease some of the traffic downtown, and citywide. article by Bruce Schaller (Schaller Consulting).
·Canal Street killer traffic article (NY Daily News, archived at transalt.org)
·Canal Street transportation study article (The Villager)
·Canal Street transportation study documents and maps (NYMTC)