[vikk]

...or money-laundering?

[Zeppo]

Sure, that's possible... As it is with any business in any city, whether it generates a lot of retail traffic or not. In NYC, though, there are lots of similar concentrations of stores - for example, in a lighting district, a designer furniture district, a restaurant supplies district, a perfume district, a toy district, an imported oriental rug/art object district, etc. etc. where much or most of the business is "to the trade" only, and you don't see much in the way of foot traffic, so you might wonder how they stay in business year after year. Maybe every one of them is a "front" of some kind, or maybe they really are wholesalers.