Chinatown, Manhattan
Ah Ken arrived in New York City around 1858, becoming the first Chinese person credited with permanently settling what would become Manhattan's Chinatown. He peddled cigars from small stands along the City Hall park fence for three cents apiece, offering a paper spill and tiny oil lamp as a lighter to customers. This modest cigar business on Park Row eventually grew into a monopoly that attracted other Chinese businessmen like William Longford, John Occoo, and John Ava. The profits Ah Ken earned allowed him to open his smoke shop and keep a boarding house on lower Mott Street where he rented bunks to new arrivals. His monthly income as a landlord averaged $100, which funded the expansion of this early enclave during the California Gold Rush era when approximately 25,000 Chinese immigrants left their homes seeking gold mountain opportunities.
The United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, creating a bachelor society where only 142 Chinese women lived among 7,028 men by 1900. This gender imbalance persisted until the act was repealed in 1943. During the Long Depression starting in 1873, racial discrimination intensified and anti-Chinese riots erupted across California, forcing many immigrants toward East Coast cities. Tongs emerged as governing bodies providing protection against harassment while also functioning as crime syndicates aligned with street gangs. Open warfare periodically flared between the On Leong and Hip Sing tongs throughout Doyers Street. Ghost Shadows and Flying Dragons controlled specific territories including Mott, Bayard, Canal, Mulberry Streets for one group and Doyers, Pell, Bowery, Grand, Hester Streets for another. These Cantonese and Toishan descent gangs maintained control over Manhattan's Chinatown blocks until the 1990s when violence began to decline significantly.
Large numbers of Fuzhounese-speaking immigrants arrived during the late 1980s through the 1990s, settling on the eastern borderline east of The Bowery where they developed Little Fuzhou. This new enclave became known as Fuzhou Street No. 1 along East Broadway and Fuzhou Street No. 2 along Eldridge Street. Many Fuzhou immigrants had no legal status and were forced into lowest paying jobs due to language barriers preventing them from speaking Cantonese. They faced significant challenges relating linguistically and culturally to the existing Cantonese-dominated community. As a result, property values increased quickly during the 1990s compared to the dropping prices of the previous decade. Landlords generated twice as much income in Manhattan's, Flushing's, and Brooklyn's Chinatowns following this demographic shift. By the 2010s, large numbers of Fuzhou speakers rapidly moved out with many shifting to Brooklyn's Chinatown in Sunset Park which has now overwhelmingly taken over as the largest Fuzhou community of New York City.
Luxury condominiums began spreading from SoHo into Chinatown by 2007, transforming previously crowded tenement buildings into expensive housing developments. A 2021 N.Y.U Furman poll found that Asian identifying individuals within the community dropped from 34.8% in 2000 to 28.1% in 2021 representing a 6.7% decrease. Since the early 2000s, new landlords charged higher rents and demolished older structures to build newer ones. Many Fuzhounese tenants were more likely to be evicted especially in the eastern portion where illegal subdivision and overcrowding remained common. The neighborhood had 47,844 residents according to the 2010 census showing a change of minus 9.5 percent from the 52,375 counted in 2000. Manhattan's Chinatown Asian population ranks at 27,200 residents compared to Bensonhurst with 46,000 and Flushing with 54,200 Asian residents. This gentrification has slowed growth of Chinese immigration to Manhattan while shifting populations toward Queens and Brooklyn boroughs.
Chinese greengrocers and fishmongers cluster around Mott Street, Mulberry Street, Canal Street by Baxter Street, and all along East Broadway especially by Catherine Street. More than 300 Chinese restaurants provide employment within the district supporting both tourism and local commerce. Canal Street west of Broadway fills with street vendors selling knock-off brands of perfumes watches and handbags. The oldest continuously run business Wing on Wo and Co established in 1890 went up for sale in 2016 when the building was worth around $10 million including six stories and storefront. Mei Lum stepped in before the sale took over the business to preserve its history through the W.O.W. Project which exhibits ethnographic research highlighting migration displacement and resilience stories. Elizabeth Center at 13 Elizabeth Street remains a Hong Kong style shopping center while East Broadway Mall at 88 East Broadway declined from around 80 stores to roughly 17 during the pandemic despite government grants intended for revitalization.
The Lieutenant Benjamin Ralph Kimlau Memorial archway at Chatham Square was erected in 1962 designed by local architect Poy Gum Lee bearing calligraphy by Yu Youren. A statue of Lin Zexu faces uptown along East Broadway now home to the bustling Fuzhou neighborhood known locally as Fuzhou Street. Confucius Plaza completed in 1976 stands as a 44-story residential tower block giving new housing stock to thousands of residents while also housing PS 124 Yung Wing Elementary School. The Museum of Chinese in America has documented the Chinese American experience since 1980. Pearl River Mart opened in 1971 becoming one of more notable family-owned stores in Chinatown. Bilingual street signs first installed on police call boxes in 1966 expanded to 155 signs at their peak though only 101 remained with almost half of 40 streets losing bilingual signage entirely due to damage and replacement policies favoring English-only options.
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Common questions
Who was the first Chinese person to permanently settle Manhattan's Chinatown?
Ah Ken arrived in New York City around 1858 and became the first Chinese person credited with permanently settling what would become Manhattan's Chinatown. He initially peddled cigars from small stands along the City Hall park fence for three cents apiece before expanding his business.
When did the United States pass the Chinese Exclusion Act that created a bachelor society in Chinatown?
The United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, creating a bachelor society where only 142 Chinese women lived among 7,028 men by 1900. This gender imbalance persisted until the act was repealed on the 1st of January 1943.
Where did Fuzhounese-speaking immigrants settle during the late 1980s through the 1990s?
Large numbers of Fuzhounese-speaking immigrants settled on the eastern borderline east of The Bowery where they developed Little Fuzhou. This new enclave became known as Fuzhou Street No. 1 along East Broadway and Fuzhou Street No. 2 along Eldridge Street.
What percentage decrease occurred in Asian identifying individuals within Manhattan's Chinatown between 2000 and 2021?
A 2021 N.Y.U Furman poll found that Asian identifying individuals within the community dropped from 34.8% in 2000 to 28.1% in 2021 representing a 6.7% decrease. The neighborhood had 47,844 residents according to the 2010 census showing a change of minus 9.5 percent from the 52,375 counted in 2000.
Which business established in 1890 went up for sale in 2016 and was preserved by Mei Lum?
The oldest continuously run business Wing on Wo and Co established in 1890 went up for sale in 2016 when the building was worth around $10 million including six stories and storefront. Mei Lum stepped in before the sale took over the business to preserve its history through the W.O.W. Project which exhibits ethnographic research highlighting migration displacement and resilience stories.