Tourists walk from 8th Avenue toward 7th Avenue along 35th Street and past what was once part of the center of the Garment District. Where there were once trucks and workers unpacking clothes are now the relentless stream of tourists overflowing from Times Square. Shops such as Gate 232 Inc., which has been in business for nine years, are moving house. Latanya Walls, a tourist from Chicago, shopped in Gate 232 Inc. during their moving sale. “I came here to shop,” she said. It’s a stark contrast from the past when the street wasn’t attractive to tourists.
A construction site now dominates the location where buildings once stood as tourists walk towards 8th Avenue on 35th Street. The Garment District is currently under the process of transformation as more and more designers move house. Although Community District 5 recently held a forum to help discuss how to save the garment district, the results are scarce if even present.