Leaders of Chinatown's Fujianese community, like Steven Wong, have tried to negotiate between the bus owners who come from different villages in Fujian and are often reluctant to work together.
"We've held some talks, but the results are usually short term," Wong said. "They behave for a little while, but then it starts again. They're like little kids. It's a new business and they didn't get used to it yet."
Following the police raid, which he described as a "wake-up call," Wong said he had called another round table meeting.
"I'm trying to tell them that if they can't work it out between themselves, we will have no option but to talk to the community board and suggest they shut down everything."
Unlike the neighboring district of Little Italy, Chinatown has weathered the recent gentrification of lower Manhattan to retain its strong ethnic identity.
In the 1970s and 1980s, gang culture was endemic with virtually every small business forced to pay protection money or move out.
Chinatown still has a criminal underworld, but its pervasive influence has dwindled considerably since a federal crackdown that began in the mid-1980s put most of the gang leaders behind bars.
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