  We present a coarsely-sampled map of the region |l|<=2 degrees, |b|<=0.1
degrees in the 492 GHz 3P1-->3P0 fine structure transition of neutral carbon,
observed with the Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and Remote Observatory
(AST/RO). The distribution of C[I] emission is similar on the large scale to
that of CO J=1-->0. On average, the ratio of the integrated intensities, I_{C
I}/I_{12CO}, is higher in the Galactic disk than in the Galactic Center region.
This result is accounted for by the absorption of 12CO within the clouds
located in the outer Galactic disk. I_{C I}/I_{12CO} is surprisingly uniform
over the variety of environments near the Galactic Center. On average, C[I] is
optically thin (or as optically thin as 13CO(J=1-->0)) even in the dense
molecular clouds of the Galactic Center region.
