The central section of Canal Street, between the thrum of Chinatown and the maw of the Holland Tunnel, is a great artery only in the utilitarian sense. In the early 1800s, an actual canal moved water fouled by manufacturing waste to the Hudson River. Until recently, the stretch was home to surplus businesses — metal, plastics, rubber, glass, textiles — dotted with souvenir shops, often concealing counterfeit ateliers. “When New York was a producing town, this is where you would meet people in your field,” said Leon Ferrer, who works at Canal Rubber, one of a few such businesses surviving. “We were blessed to have an area like this.”For the city’s powerful, central Canal Street is a problem to solve, and a redevelopment opportunity.

Source: New York Times March 30, 2021 19:59 UTC