Nicknamed “The Melting Pot,” New York City has become home to many communities of immigrants who have formed their own “Little New Yorks.” These “Little New Yorks,” were created to help immigrants of similar cultural backgrounds survive the harsh and competitive environment during the 1980s. For example, Chinatown has become home to many Chinese immigrants that have worked together to overcome their struggles. “Little New Yorks,” have since become an identifiable trait of New York City. The overlap created by communities interacting, as outlined by Colson Whitehead in “City Limits,” have created what we define as New York City. Colson Whitehead and Charles McGrath described these overlaps as a positive influence on New York City. However, as New York City has aged, these overlaps are seen as the destructive force known as gentrification.

To see an example of how gentrification has affected New York City, we can take a look at a small section of Chinatown. The corner of Canal and Essex Street was once a lively center for Chinatown’s working force. My father was among these hungry workers. Countless mornings were spent sharing meals with co-worker from the restaurant across the street and drinking soda from the nearest bodega. This corner was a staple for Chinatown’s blue and white collar workers. It didn’t matter if you worked in the tallest office building in Chinatown or if you worked in the basement of a noodle shop. This corner was where you shared a meal with friends, laughed, and gossiped. Unfortunately, all golden ages come to an end. Since then, this bustling corner of Chinatown’s history has become commonplace for the Lower East Side’s privileged. They are people who live leisurely and don’t have to worry about putting children through school. Now when I pass by this corner on my commute, I no longer get a sense of productivity and unity, but an unsettling sense of melancholy.

It’s no secret that Chinatown is getting smaller and smaller by the year. Due to high rent prices, businesses and homes are being vacated. The community recognizes this unfortunate reality surrounding them. As a response, many of the first generation are moving to more favorable communities such as Flushing and 8th Avenue. The sad reality of this is that it leaves behind the elderly, the ones who established Chinatown. The elderly that remain have few options to combat the rising rent and new tenants. This leads to gentrification being as rapid as it is. As opposed to parts of Brooklyn that are also affected by gentrification, Chinatown is one of the few communities with few fluent english speakers. The language barrier makes it extremely difficult for Chinatown’s elderly to understand and defend themselves against new greedy landlords and rising rent prices.

Another contributing factor is the alienation of Chinatown. East Asians are a very exclusive people, we often reject foreigners. However, this is to not only the fault of East Asians. While emigrating from China to America we have faced much discrimination, and have chosen to fence ourselves in. The combination of seclusion and unfamiliar culture causes us to be viewed as weird and alien. The outside-in perspective only perceives the East Asian culture as various fads that are perversions of the real culture. It’s apparent in online food blogs like Zagat, that Chinatown’s highest ranking restaurants serve Americanized food. Whitehead suggests that Americanized food is a sign of positive overlap. If you’ve ever spent time in one of these restaurants, you’d know that this food panders to non-East Asian people who have just finished clubbing. Other than these few staple restaurants, the Lower East Side views Chinatown as a tourist novelty. As time goes on these fads die and New York City’s Chinatown will be pushed aside to make room for new cafes and trendy brunch joints.

So, what can we do about it? We can try our best to preserve what is remaining of Chinatown, but in eight to ten years it’s unlikely that Chinatown would be any bigger than Mott Street. Like tending to an old grandparent nearing their end, we can sit by their bedside and comfort them. But in the end, we can really only try to make the transition as painless as possible. Take photos of the lunch joint you eat at with your friends. Make memories and have no regrets, because like Whitehead said, “At some point you were closer to the last time than you were to the first time, and you didn’t even know it.”(Whitehead). In a way, Chinatown has a very poetic meaning in it’s death. My father and mother told me that they immigrated from parts of China, and that their hope was to create a better life for their children. So as the first generation has moved on to college and begin integrating with other New Yorkers, fathers and mothers retire knowing they succeeded. While the decline of Chinatown is unfortunate, It succeeded in its mission of creating a better life for its first residents and their offspring.

Sources:

McGrath, Charles. “A Literary Visitor Strolls in From the Airport.” The New York Times, December 6, 2006.

Whitehead, Colson. “City Limits.” The Colossus of New York: A City in Thirteen Parts. New York: Random House, 2004. 1-12.