I chose the corner of Essex and Canal because it holds meaning to me. It was a part of my childhood that I now see has disappeared with no trace. It was like a memory was removed completely and replaced by something foreign, and I don’t understand it. I also am very upset about the Gentrification of Chinatown because of the fact that Chinatown is 80% elderly. They haven’t learned English and are being pushed out by people who don’t take that into account. They aren’t being respected the way they should be, and they’re taken advantage of, shunned, and can’t afford to live in these areas anymore.

Some Articles that support my view on the gentrification of Chinatown

Article 1 

Article 1 refers to how multiple Chinatowns across the united states are being affected by gentrification.

Article 2

Article 2 offers some statistics on who exactly is gentrifying Chinatown NYC

The location I chose is a tiny corner on the edge of Chinatown. It’s around a 25 minute walk from City tech, you cross the Manhattan bridge, and walk down Canal towards Essex street. This little corner of Chinatown didn’t hold much significance to me until recently when I started working in Chinatown. Working in Chinatown has inspired me to return to my roots, to start eating the foods I ate when I was younger, and to learn more of my native language. Seeing that what was once a deli and Chinese breakfast cafe become a trendy coffee joint really shocked me. I remembered waking up Saturday mornings and taking the train from Queens to Chinatown for doctors appointments, and buying soda from the Deli and waiting for my father to get coffee. What used to be so insignificant suddenly means a lot to me. The whole feeling of the area completely changed as well. It used to be bustling in the morning, The East Broadway station used to be full of people coming in and out, but now few people pass through. It used to be a busy center of transport, but now it’s a relaxed open environment. I hadn’t been to Chinatown most of high school, It took me a while to realize that this new area with Cafes was the same area I used to get breakfast from before Saturday school and doctors appointments. There is also a very distinct border to Chinatown and the lower east side. And you can feel the LES slowly encroaching, simply by the new deli and also the Chinese “diner” on another corner across from the cafe. This wide, white sheet of gentrification slowly covering and strangling my roots.

This is what the corner used to look like. 26 B and 26 A were the Deli and Cafe that were replaced.

This is the new cafe “Little canal” that replaced it.

This is the Chinese “Diner” that is across from the new cafe that has been there for years. very good food. Nice juxtaposition.

The article “City Limits” by Colson Whitehead is just him going on a jaunt through New York’ best and worst parts and his experiences and his perspective on the changes that occurred. He addresses the many things that makes New York the city that he loves. In the passage he explains to the reader that New York goes through so many changes at a very rapid pace. “Damage has been done to your city. You say, it happened overnight.” His dramatic insight towards New York going through changes will have any reader believe that nothing lasts forever in the gargantuan concrete jungle. “Or old buildings still stand because we saw them, moved in and out of their long shadows, were lucky enough to know them for a time.” This means that he believes that no matter what new buildings replace the old ones, we were still there to see the old ones , so therefore we are lucky to see such change happen to a city we live and die in. Colson’s main point in this passage is that everyday the city of New York changes, whether it’s a small change or a big one everyone and everything affects one another. Some changes people won’t care about until it’s impacts someone or something but us as New Yorkers fail to realize how a minor change can affect a very large population of the city. Colson has a very strong pride in being a New Yorker, he’s proud to say that he’s seen the city he group up in change. But he knows that no matter how many changes the city goes through he will always love it.