Canal Street: busted

| Posted Feb 28th 2008 9:00AM by Josh Loposer
Filed under: Accessories, Style in the media, Designers

Getting designer knock-offs on Canal Street is an integral part of any NYC vacation. It's hard find a great deal like $10 for a Rolex Submariner anywhere else in the States. The same goes for a $15 Gucci bag. Who'll ever know that it's not a real diamond encrusted cell phone case?

OK, it's pretty obvious. Novelty rip-offs are the lifeblood of Chinatown and it's been that way for as long as I can remember. Nevertheless, NYPD decision-makers decided it was time to round up the usual suspects Tuesday -- pretending to be outraged over the world-renown counterfeit market. According to WWD, 32 shops were shut down and $1 million worth of rip-off watches, handbags, perfumes, etc. were confiscated.

Bloomberg and NYPD officials claimed a victory in their efforts to convert the "Counterfeit Triangle" into a respectable retail area. The city's new strategy will be to go after landlords that lease space to counterfeiters -- harsh. What do you think? Will the crackdown work?

[via Fashionista]

Tags: Canal Street, CanalStreet, Chinatown, counterfeit, fakes, knockoffs