The Closure of Dragon Gate Market

Dragon Gate Market first opened in 1993 as an attempt to corral Chinatown street vendors into one central location. The outdoor market not a manageable or cheaper solution for the vendors - they often had to pay hundreds of dollars to the Parks Department to lease their space and pay out of pocket for their structures, which were required. The market quickly became a popular location for Chinatown vendors to sell everything from groceries, like fresh produce, to traditional Asian street foods, like noodles and eggrolls. This was part of the NYPD’s patrol initiative to “exclude and remove people of color from urban spaces” after white residents in surrounding areas, like Little Italy and SoHo feared the possibility of Chinatown’s expansion into their neighborhood. [1]

When the market closure was announced, it was seen as another example to add to the city’s growing list of anti-immigrant acts. Having been pushed into Dragon Gate Market by one administration and forcibly removed by another, vendors felt they had no options for continuing their businesses.

As the Chinatown vendors were used as scapegoats for overcrowded sidewalks, nearby restaurants in Little Italy received no infractions for impeding onto the sidewalks with outdoor dining setups.

Produce Vendor. CAAAV Digital Archive 

When the market closure was announced, it was seen as another example to add to the city’s growing list of anti-immigrant acts. Having been pushed into Dragon Gate Market by one administration and forcibly removed by another, vendors felt they had no options for continuing their businesses.

As the Chinatown vendors were used as scapegoats for overcrowded sidewalks, nearby restaurants in Little Italy received no infractions for impeding onto the sidewalks with outdoor dining setups.

Protest Against New York City's Mayor Rudy Giuliani. CAAAV Digital Archive

Indict Giuliani. CAAAV Digital Archive 

In February 1999, dozens of demonstrators gathered at the Dragon Gate Market to protest against the Giuliani administration’s decision to raze the market. Members of CAAAV gathered at the outdoor market at Sara Delano Roosevelt Park in the Lower East Side chanting “Stern Must Go!” referring to Parks Department Commissioner Henry J. Stern, who refused to renegotiate the lease for the market. Demonstrators also “linked arms and strode into Grand Street, block[ing] traffic for about five minutes.”[2]

Under the Giuliani administration, street vendors complained about the police department’s increasing harassment, with ticketing growing increasingly common throughout the city. More and more citations were handed out to the primarily immigrant workers described as safety hazards for crowding streets and sidewalks.  Just days before the announcement, the NYPD fatally shot and killed Guinean immigrant street vendor Amadou Diallo, leaving many immigrant street vendors across the city fearing for their lives and future.

Forcing the closure of the Dragon Gate Market was just one piece of a more considerable effort to contain Chinatown’s expansion into neighborhoods, like SoHo and Little Italy, through over-policing under the guise of maintaining public spaces. The Racial Justice Committee (RJC) was able to identify and expose a pattern of enforcing inactive zoning laws during the Giuliani administration, which favored private and for-profit companies with less government oversight. [3] Earlier in the month, CAAAV joined hundreds of Chinatown vendors at City Hall to protest the Street Vendor Review Panel, which had significantly reduced the number of permits issued annually by 1,000.[4]