Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Financial District
Come lunchtime downtown, the streets fill with workers scurrying around the cheap shopping outlets.
Fulton,
Nassau,
and
Chambers
streets are big destinations, although there isn't anything here that can't be found in
other places in the city. The two exceptions to that rule are the city's best electronics and best clothes stores, both
near City Hall (see “Shekels & Chains: Department Stores” and “Electronics,” later in this chapter).
Subway: A/C/J/Z/2/3/4/5 to Fulton St./Broadway Nassau; R to City Hall; 4/5/6 to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall.
Chinatown
A trip to Chinatown can feel like a visit to a foreign country, with prices that are only a fraction of what's charged
across the border. Although the days of easy access to knockoff Oakley sunglasses and Kate Spade bags are gone
(the city has cracked down on counterfeiting), this is still the city's premier bargain destination.
Division Street
and East Broadway
don't attract many tourists, but locals take advantage of the abundance of cheap apartment-
ware shops, where good prices on appliances, furniture, knickknacks, and hardware can be found.
Subway: A/C/E/J/N/R/Q/Z/6 to Canal St.
NoLita & the East Village
NoLita and the East Village are stylish boutique playgrounds. As such, bargains can be hard to find. The good
news is that low—if not dirt cheap—prices on haute couture can still be tracked down, if you put in the legwork.
NoLita's
Elizabeth, Mott, and Mulberry streets
(btw. Houston and Prince) are dotted with an ever-increasing
number of fashionable stops, including one of the city's best consignment stores (see “Designer Consignment
Stores,” later in this chapter). In the Village,
East 9th Street,
between Second Avenue and Avenue A, is home to a
slew of up-and-coming local fashion designers—great for window shopping, if nothing else—and loads of small
gift shops.
Subway: N/R to Prince St.; 6 to Spring St.; F to Second Ave.; J/Z to Bowery.
The Lower East Side
Holdover street signs designate the chunk of Manhattan south of Houston and east of the Bowery as the “Bargain
District.” You can still find fabric, bedding, and some clothing, but expensive boutiques and trendy restaurants
are crowding the bargains out. The state of flux makes it fun to visit, especially on Sundays.
Orchard Street
closes
to traffic
between Delancey and Houston streets,
and vendors lay out cheap goods on tabletops, in the spirit of
the pushcarts that were once ubiquitous. In warmer months you may also get a free band, fashion show, or pickle
festival. Many shopkeepers will bargain, if that's in your skill set. Little hipster shops have infiltrated Orchard
and can also be found scattered around
Ludlow and Stanton
and other nearby streets. Much cheaper goods are
available off
Delancey and Clinton streets,
which have a few holdout 99¢ stores and bargain-bin housewares.
Subway: F to Delancey St.; J/M/Z to Essex St.
On Broadway
The stretches of
Broadway between Bleecker and Canal streets
are a fashion runway for New York youth. With
cheap stores abounding, the streets stay packed until nightfall. Though it's sometimes semiderisively referred to
as the “Cheap Sneaker District,” lower Broadway has a great selection of hip and affordable jeans, sweats, jackets,
and, yes, sneakers. The area's traffic flow has only increased with the opening of a Bloomingdale's satellite and
the high-profile addition has yet to price out its cut-rate neighbors.
Subway: B/D/F/M to Broadway/Lafayette St.; 6 to Spring St.; N/R to Prince St.
Chelsea
Proximity to Fifth Avenue's deep purses helped propel Chelsea's stretches of
Sixth Avenue and Broadway
to the
top of Manhattan's shopping heap in the late 19th century. The fancy folk eventually moved uptown and the de-
partment stores followed, but not before leaving behind some lovely cast-iron architecture. Big discount chains
have moved in, including a popular Old Navy, and a couple of good thrift stops on
17th Street between Fifth
and Sixth avenues.
Subway: L to Sixth Ave.; F/M to 23rd St.
