Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Buying A Counterfeit Designer Bag Could Soon Land You In Jail Or A $1000 Fine
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 26, 2011
Modified Apr 26, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 26, 2011
Modified Apr 26, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The city's seemingly futile crackdown on counterfeit designer merchandise could get some new teeth if City Councilwoman Margaret Chin has her way. Chin, whose district includes Chinatown, will introduce legislation this week that would make it illegal to buy knockoffs like bogus Louis Vuitton bags. Guilty buyers could face a year in jail or a $1000 fine if caught, and Chin says the heavy penalty is necessary if the city's going to staunch the flow of ripoff merchandise. But how are buyers supposed to know the purse they're buying from the street peddler is fake, and not just the deal of a lifetime?!
Chin's bill simply posits that buyers should know the goods are counterfeit if they're too cheap and being sold in Chinatown, where the city has dubbed one area along Canal the "Counterfeit Triangle." Chin says she'll put up signs all over the neighborhood warning buyers not to support the bootleggers, and guilty customers could only be fined or arrested if caught in the act. She has support in the City Council for the bill, and tells the Post, "We don't want to be known as the place to come to get counterfeit goods." She's holding a press conference at City Hall today to announce the bill.
On the streets of Chinatown, reaction was mixed. Sandy Lui, manager of Optical 88 on Mott and Hester Street (great place to get eyeglass prescriptions filled!), dreamed of a day when people would stop coming into her store looking for knockoff designer frames. But one Staten Island woman, Christine Gambino, told the Post her fake Louis Vuitton handbag cost her just $40, adding, "I'll take a risk and sacrifice to look good and pay less." And a school teacher from Brooklyn, Erma Charles, made the Department of Education proud by explaining that she buys knockoffs even though she knows it's wrong, because, "Everyone steals."
Tagged
Chinatown
counterfeit goods
knockoff goods
margaret chin
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
5 men charged with trespassing in 2 Manhattan manhole cases
Two people who were found soaking wet and smelling of sewage say they went underground to look for jewelry, according to police and a criminal complaint.
By
Charles Lane
Published Oct 23, 2026 at 7:49 p.m. ET
6-year-old girl breaks leg after getting hit by falling bricks in Queens
The girl was walking with her mother in Maspeth on Thursday. The Department of Buildings cited the owner of a garage for “failure to maintain” it.
By
Charles Lane
News
6-year-old girl breaks leg after getting hit by falling bricks in Queens
The girl was walking with her mother in Maspeth on Thursday. The Department of Buildings cited the owner of a garage for “failure to maintain” it.
By
Charles Lane
Mamdani extends ban on permits for new street fairs due to NYPD overtime
By
Carol Chen
Inside the Midtown Bus Terminal rebuild: Decks over Lincoln Tunnel approach, a new park
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Black couple seeking Queens apartment sues over racist text from broker
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .