Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 33 VTMBH Article: Article Order 3 VTMBH Article: Title Chinatown jewelry industry still struggling VTMBH Article: Author Xiaoqing Rong VTMBH Article: Publication Sing Tao Daily VTMBH Article: Original Language Chinese VTMBH Article: Translator Xiaoqing Rong VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb Discount and sale signs are everywhere in the windows of the hundreds of jewelry stores along crowded Canal Street. As one of the major traditional businesses in Chinatown, the jewelry stores are still struggling even one year after September 11th. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Discount and sale signs are everywhere in the windows of the hundreds of jewelry stores along crowded Canal Street. As one of the major businesses in Chinatown, the jewelry stores are still struggling one year after September 11th. The stores are still forced to stimulate business with big discounts, as they have been doing during the whole year. Despite the promotion, people in the industry still complain that the business is far from what it was a year ago. The jewelry industry is a traditional one in Chinatown. A lot of family-owned stores date back at least two decades. And there are about 250 or so jewelry stores in Chinatown. Most of them are clustered along Canal and Bowery Streets. Because of the quantity and reasonable prices, Chinatown jewelry industry is considered an equal counterpart of the jewelry hub on Fifth Avenue. The closure of many roads and the unprecedented tight security check made Chinatown almost a dead zone for a long time after September 11th. With the additional inconvenience of the lack of telecommunications in the area, owners of jewelry stores had to shut down their business for about a week, as did other business owners. When businesses reopened, they found that the crowded streets and dynamic business taken for granted before September 11th were gone. According to an Asian American Federation survey, Chinatown after September 11th, in the first three months after September 11th, the sales of jewelry industry dropped 50 percent. Although business has recovered slowly over the last year, jewelry businessmen said their business is still only 70 percent of what it was last year. The entire effect of September 11th is still hitting us, said Larry Feng, the manager of Li Xing Jewelry store. Feng explained that although the traffic and telecommunication are improving, the already battered American economy has worsened after September 11th. Layoffs in the newspapers are not news anymore, and people lack confidence in the economy. The economy situation affects all the business. But as for the jewelry industry, I think we were affected most, said Feng. Feng noted jewelry is not everyday merchandise but a luxury. When the economic down turns, people trim luxuries first out of the budget events. The recovery of the jewelry industry depends on the recovery of the whole economy, Feng said. George Chan, an owner of another jewelry store, pointed out that intense competition also contributes to the slow recovery of Chinatown jewelry industry. During the 90s, a lot of new jewelry stores opened in Chinatown, Chan said. Before September 11th, when the tourists rushed into Chinatown every day, we were not worried about customers, [and] the new stores had helped increase the quantity of Chinatowns jewelry stores and, therefore, draw the attention of jewelry buyers on us. But now, tourists are much fewer than before. The stores have to compete with one another for the limited customers. More stores only means less chance all to survive. Amy So, a daughter of the well-known jewelry Sos family, agrees with Chan. So works as a diamond designer in David S. Diamond, a familys store on the Fifth Avenue. Sos believes that the jewelry business on Fifth Avenue completely recovered several months after September 11th. But a lot of family friends who own stores in Chinatown still complain about the sagged business. The reason of the disparity, So said, is Chinatowns harsh competition and lack of design. So explained, that after 1997, when Hong Kong was returned to China, Chinatown experienced the flux of Hong Kong immigrants worried about the legacy of Hong Kong. Jewelry is a traditional business of Hong Kong. And lot of new immigrants worked in that industry in Hong Kong, and upon their arrival, they opened jewelry stores in Chinatown and tried to live on the business they were familiar with. This increased the competition among jewelry stores in Chinatown. The problem in Chinatown is there are so many stores, but they dont have their own style, said So. Compared to the jewelry stores on Fifth Avenue, whose lifeline is specialized designs, Chinatowns stores are no different from one another, So noted. They just repeat themselves and have few special designs, she said. So many stores compete for customers with the same taste. Its no surprise that they were stuck. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-09-07 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 137 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Chinatown jewelry industry still struggling 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Discount and sale signs are everywhere in the windows of the hundreds of jewelry stores along crowde Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-07