Yes, you can walk around Chinatown and Little Italy safely in the evening. In Chinatown, NY Noodletown, at 28 Bowery, is a good choice for a family group; it is inexpensive and very good. Try "salt baked" seafoods, roasted meats, and noodle dishes.

For what it's worth: One trip to New York it was pouring rain and I knew I'd be the one in my group outside trying to hail a cab so I called a limousine service and they had a "Manhattan-by-the-hour"service for about $20/hr. The driver dropped us each where we wanted to go to shop, picked us up, kept our parcels safe and dropped us 2 hours later at a restaurant for lunch. It was the best $40 I had spent in NY. An
alternative to subway,walking, and busing.

The limo sevice is very cool . Do you remember the co's name or can anyone reccommend a co. Do they charge by the number of people or size of car. Always fancied a stretch to pick us up at the airport? Any ideas thanks Ian.