Canal Street Shutdowns

[Photo via NY Times] City Room reported last night that 32 storefronts with counterfeit goods have been shut down in Chinatown today! Mayor Bloomberg has obtained a restraining order to shut down illegal business in "Counterfeit Triangle," that treasure trove of fake designer goodies from "Coach" bags to "Fendi" sunglasses. Worth more than one million dollars in street value, the mayor has decreed that storefronts must be replaced by legitimate businesses. Or else.

One half of my mind wonders what has taken THIS LONG for the city to put two and two together. The other half of my mind wonders where those Jersey girls with acrylic nails are going to find their Louis Vuitton bags with that fake leather that looks like plastic tarp, now that they can't take the train in for a day of Canal Street back room purchasing. Come on, ladies, do you really think a $1,000 purse can be realistically counterfeited for 50 bucks? I take comfort in remembering that school kids will still be able to buy their ten dollar Foakley sunglasses from the guys that wait for buses to pull in by the Statue of Liberty ferry so that they can hawk their wares from beneath their bulky jackets.