The Chinatown Night Market, organized by Think!Chinatown for five seasons, has ended with no plans to continue. Two final night markets were held this July and August after corporate funders withdrew support. Each night required about $10,000 in hard costs, which local groups covered at the last minute, including Send Chinatown Love and Trinity Church. The market operated on Forsyth Street near Canal Street, a space characterized by a wide sidewalk and a small elevated plaza beneath the Manhattan Bridge approach. Up to 40 street vendors sold clothing, tools, electronics, produce, and seafood, providing affordable, essential supplies for restaurants and residents.
It was not an easy decision for the event's nonprofit organizer, Think!Chinatown, to call it quits after this year's two Chinatown Night Markets - one in July and the other this August. This year's night markets almost didn't happen after corporate funders backed away. The $10,000 in hard costs per night market was covered at the last minute by local funding sources Send Chinatown Love (which itself shut down its operations in June) and Trinity Church.
It all takes place on a block of Forsyth Street just south of Canal Street that's served many purposes over the years. There are no buildings on the west side of the street. There's only a wide sidewalk along the Manhattan Bridge approach as it touches down in Chinatown, with a small elevated plaza tucked into the space between the sidewalk and the approach along the northern third of the block.
The street vendors set up in the early morning hours, seven days a week. As many as 40 vendors sell everything from shoes and secondhand clothing to used tools, electronics and the wide range of fruits, vegetables and seafood one can expect from a street market in Chinatown. Bok choy currently sells at $2 per two pounds. In Chinatown, restaurants and families alike rely on street vendors for quick re-ups on fresh supplies at affordable prices,
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