South of Pershing Sq is one of the country's largest jewelry districts. Centered on Broadway and Hill St (between 6th and 7th Sts), the main currency here is gold and diamonds. Sadly many of the working-class Latinos who frequented these businesses have moved on in recent years and the combination of rapid gentrification and soaring rents in the area has forced a growing number of long-standing traders to shut shop.
Between Hill St and Broadway, on 7th St, is one of Downtown’s oddities, St Vincent Ct, a raffish alleyway pimped with kitsch facades meant to evoke faraway locations, from Paris to Beijing. The strip is dotted with Middle Eastern cafes where clusters of men sip minty tea, and hipsters chow gyros.
