By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
LOWER MANHATTAN — A controversial proposed law that would fine or jail people who buy knockoff handbags on Canal Street won support from a divided downtown community board Tuesday night.
Community Board 1 voted 22 to 13 to support Councilwoman Margaret Chin's bill, which would slam shoppers with up to a $1,000 fine and one year in jail for each counterfeit item they buy.
As it stands now, cops can only arrest the vendors of counterfeit goods, not the people who buy the items.
"If you want to address this problem, you have to address both sides," said Paul Cantor, a CB1 member who supports Chin's bill.
While some residents welcomed the proposal as a way of cracking down on the neighborhood's rampant illegal vending problem, others said the proposed law could discourage tourists from visiting Chinatown.
"This is the kind of thing that will ensnare the young, tourists, the dim-witted, people who are just not thinking," said Jeff Galloway, a CB1 member.
Chow Xie, a CB1 member and assistant district attorney in Brooklyn, said it was "too harsh" to slap a first-time offender with a Class A misdemeanor. That's the equivalent of heroin possession and would remain part of the person's permanent criminal record.
"There's no 'strike one,'" Xie said.
Other residents worried that the bill puts the burden on the shopper to decipher whether the merchandise is real or counterfeit. While a Gucci bag sold for $40 in a back alley is clearly fake, the distinction is less clear when it comes to the plethora of sunglasses, scarves and T-shirts sold at the stalls that line Canal Street, residents said.
"The bill will basically make it illegal to shop on Canal Street," said Ro Sheffe, a CB1 member.
Chin was not present at CB1's meeting Tuesday, but she said in a statement afterward that the counterfeit trade currently hurts legitimate Chinatown businesses, so it would only help them to abolish it.
Chin also defended her legislation at a smaller board meeting last week, where residents raised similar concerns. The bill is awaiting a committee hearing in the City Council.
"The idea is not to lock anybody up, but to let people know how serious it is," Chin told CB1's Quality of Life Committee last week. "It's a deterrent."
Chin said she has heard from other councilmembers who also think the penalties are too severe. The Council will hash out the final details of the bill during the committee review process, she said.
"But it's got to have some teeth," Chin said. "It can't be a slap on the wrist."
If the bill passes, Chin will call for a major public service campaign to inform visitors of the penalties and help them understand the difference between real and fake goods.
