NITE, and other garment industry supporters blame the Giuliani Administration for backing away from plans to develop about 90,000 square feet of industrial space at the Brooklyn Army terminal in Sunset Park. “This project could have created new space for several garment companies relocating from Manhattan,” Bowles says.

The garment industry is facing seriuous problems

But the problem goes beyond relocation, according to Roger and Katy Chan. Even if the garment industries were able to come up with the pricey rent, they would be unprofitable because of the amount of money they make, less garment importation costs and payment of income, leaves most factories with just enough to keep them operating. Other Chinatown residents feel that the garment industry is one of three that make up the area’s backbone and that without it, the people are going to suffer terribly.

Many garment factorys are located on Grand Street

“It’s years and years of business,” says Stephen Wong, the Fijian community leader in Chinatown. “It’s not just about sweatshops and minimum wage. These shops have carried generations of Chinese immigrants for many years. Now, the new immigrants do not have that choice, yet they speak no English and have no other skills.”

Wong says that the collapse of the garment industry would contribute to a lot of problems in Chinatown, the largest of which will be crime. “If you’re unemployed, you cannot feed your family -- what else can you do?”