Chinatown is suffering severely from SARS fears, according to a local business group set today to release details of a survey of neighborhood merchants.
“Every place” in Chinatown is hurting for business, said Perry Ho, manager of Joe Shanghai’s on Pell Street.
Business is down perhaps 10 to 20 percent “because of war, because of SARS, because of the weather” said Ho.
Yesterday’s improvement in the weather seemed to bring more people out to Chinatown than there had been recently, but not all restaurants are filled to capacity.
“Maybe some people are affected by SARS, but I think it’s mostly the recession,” said a waiter at Nha Hang, a Vietnamese restaurant on Mulberry Street, which was three quarters full.
But Chinatown resident Joseph Cheung, 46, painted a far gloomier picture.
“Most restaurants are almost in debt,” he said. “There’s not a lot of people here.”
One Chinatown tour guide, who blames SARS for recent cancellations, said out-of-towners are panicking, not New Yorkers.
“Some people think it’s quarantined down here because of SARS, but Chinatown is not closed,” said Eric Wakin, of Big Onion Tours.
But there were still tourists on the streets. Tim Mather, 43, of Portland, Ore. was busy shopping with his group of business travelers at the Fu Qiang Gift Shop, on Mott Street.
“I’m not worried about it,” Mather said.
“It’s more likely I’ll get run over by a car than get SARS.”
Arthur Horowitz, 74, of New Haven, Conn. was only slightly apprehensive.
“We’re not concerned, but perhaps we should be,” he said.