The Importer-Exporter District
Remember that episode of Seinfeld in which Costanza claims he's an "importer-exporter"? When I first saw that episode, I'd kind of assumed that was a made-up job, but it turns out to be quite real, and very much a New York phenomenon.
There is an odd borderland between the northernmost limit of the Village (14th Street) and the southernmost limit of true Midtown (34th Street). In these 20 blocks, even a Fifth Avenue or Broadway address can be a rather shabby affair. The buildings here tend to date back to the 1920s and '30s, and are often of good design, but have seen better days. And the storefronts are almost entirely taken up by "importer-exporters".
So, what exactly is an importer-exporter? Alas, there is no Wikipedia entry for this term (yet), but after you see a few of their establishments (some of which proudly bear the legend "IMPORTER-EXPORTER" on their awnings), you get the gist: they presumably buy various cheap consumer goods abroad direct from the manufacturers, then bring them to New York to sell. Most of what's on offer is purses, jewelry, and cheap electronics. The majority of this neighborhood's importer-exporters seems to be West African (I once found a Koran store among the various haberdasheries), but there are also some Asians and Latinos.
And now for some photos of the area, taken mostly on Broadway between 28th and 30th Streets.
And now for some photos from the same neighborhood, but not necessarily of importer-exporters' stores.
That's right, you heard me: men's furs. (They even have a male mannequin dressed up in a long fur coat, like the kind 1920s college football fans wore.)
The Rat really gets around. I saw him -- er, her, mustn't forget those "festering nipples" -- in front of my apartment building that morning. (Actually, I'm pretty sure there are multiple Rats active in New York on any given weekday.)
And finally, wanna see what the inside of a New York City street looks like? This is 29th Street, under construction.
There is an odd borderland between the northernmost limit of the Village (14th Street) and the southernmost limit of true Midtown (34th Street). In these 20 blocks, even a Fifth Avenue or Broadway address can be a rather shabby affair. The buildings here tend to date back to the 1920s and '30s, and are often of good design, but have seen better days. And the storefronts are almost entirely taken up by "importer-exporters".
So, what exactly is an importer-exporter? Alas, there is no Wikipedia entry for this term (yet), but after you see a few of their establishments (some of which proudly bear the legend "IMPORTER-EXPORTER" on their awnings), you get the gist: they presumably buy various cheap consumer goods abroad direct from the manufacturers, then bring them to New York to sell. Most of what's on offer is purses, jewelry, and cheap electronics. The majority of this neighborhood's importer-exporters seems to be West African (I once found a Koran store among the various haberdasheries), but there are also some Asians and Latinos.
And now for some photos of the area, taken mostly on Broadway between 28th and 30th Streets.
And now for some photos from the same neighborhood, but not necessarily of importer-exporters' stores.
That's right, you heard me: men's furs. (They even have a male mannequin dressed up in a long fur coat, like the kind 1920s college football fans wore.)
The Rat really gets around. I saw him -- er, her, mustn't forget those "festering nipples" -- in front of my apartment building that morning. (Actually, I'm pretty sure there are multiple Rats active in New York on any given weekday.)
And finally, wanna see what the inside of a New York City street looks like? This is 29th Street, under construction.