clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Timothy Saccenti Goes Back to the Future in Chinatown's Tech Village

New, 1 comment

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

New York City has more stores than anyone could physically tackle, but somehow we always keep returning to the usual suspects. To break out of the rut, we've asked some local shopping and fashion gurus to provide their hidden retail gems—those unique stores around our fantastic city that we might not all know about. Cue the Beatles: We're about to get a little help from our friends.

Timothy Saccenti is a photographer and an art director who's worked alongside everyone from Erykah Badu to Pharrell. His vision is unique: He mixes elements of pop culture, avant-garde music, and print collaborations in a brain-scrambling aesthetic. (Check out his website to see what we mean.) Where does he get those wacky tech toys that help him realize his latest ideas? It's not where you think. Saccenti has dug through Chinatown to unearth Hi-Tech Electronic Service Center, your one-stop-shop for a LED-induced time warp.—Yale Breslin

In the glut of shops at the "little electronics district" (all of which have the words "Hi-Tech" in their name for some reason) of Canal Street between Allen and Essex Streets in Chinatown, Hi-Tech Electronic Service Center at 47 Canal Street is a true gem. In addition to the excellent electronic repair service they provide for everything from your classic Lasonic Ghetto blaster to your creatively smashed laptop screen, they carry a stream of unusual analog devices that seem to have arrived in mint condition via a time machine.
Need a Japanese region Laserdisc player from 1984 to watch your 25th Anniversary box set 6 sided version of Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey? Check. How about a working 8-trak player to blast your parents copy of Journey's classic album Escape? Well, maybe not...but their unusual mix of working vintage gear with outrageously cool LED readouts and cheap high-end Macintosh bits makes this spot worth checking out.
· Timothy Saccenti [Official Site]

Hi-Tech Electronic Service Center

47 Canal Street New York, NY 10002