Last year, we noticed that a bunch of the graffiti covered delivery trucks had disappeared from Forsyth street right by the base of the Manhattan Bridge.  It turns out that there was police crackdown on the unsanitary practices including food vendors who would “pee in a bag and throw it out on the street and never clean it up.”  I guess the city is now taking it a step further in trying to make the area a lot nicer for the community.  (Personally, I love the gritty/grimey aspects of Chinatown)

Below are some proposed renderings for the re-vamp of the base of the Manhattan Bridge to be known as Forsyth Plaza Park.  The “Asian Americans for Equality” organization is involved in this project scheduled for 2014 if it gets approved by the Public Design Commission.

I guess the condition that the spot is in today is definitely a step up from the early 90′s, when the area was a squat/shantytown.  Below is a photo of the are from 1992:

For more information about this project:
http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2012/02/cb3-approves-plan-for-forsyth-plaza-park.html
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4eIzUF5UOl9MWFnV1ZQTk5UWG1ZNG5QWnFPZF84dw/edit