What Is Actually Happening on Mott Street in Chinatown
Chinatown is gentrifying. Is all the new attention just a fad, or out of genuine respect for its unique culture?
When asked where to get the most affordable dining options in Manhattan, New Yorkers will always come up with a specific neighborhood — Chinatown.
Have lunch at House of Joy for dim sum, then grab a boba at Miss Du’s Tea Shop. If you would like to turn your eyes to more traditional food, visit Uncle Lou on Mulberry Street where you can experience all the Cantonese delicacies. “Those are my go-to recommendations for people,” said Chloe Chan, a second-generation Chinese American, speaking of her love for the Chinatown community.
Chan is a co-founder of Mott Street Girls, a local organization that helps the Chinatown community by spotlighting mom-and-pop shops. For her, these restaurants mean more than just food places; they breathe into Chinatown all the uniqueness, life and energy.
She has shown a genuine concern for them and helped them to be promoted on social media since the pandemic, especially for elderly business owners in Chinatown who may not be as tech-savvy or social media-savvy as the younger generations.
But, they are still at risk. The recent influx of newly-opened hip and artsy places in the neighborhood fomented the rent prices to skyrocket, exacerbating the already dire situation caused by the pandemic.
In an interview, Chan answered some questions on small businesses and the impact of gentrification in Chinatown and discussed its prospect.
Mott Street Girls launched to spotlight the small local businesses after a wave of xenophobia and hatred against New York City’s Asian-American community during the pandemic. How are things going?
Yeah, Chinatown is slowly coming back alive. Thanks to all the non-profit organizations like Welcome to Chinatown, Send Chinatown Love, and ThinkChinatown, the collective efforts helped draw more people to Chinatown despite the ongoing COVID pandemic. But many small businesses are still struggling as a result of the pandemic. So, while Chinatown is slowly reviving, I think it is still important to show the neighborhood some support, if possible.
Have you heard about Dimes Square? It’s a tiny section of a Chinatown street, which has become more of a cultural concept than a place. I’ve read many articles about Dimes Square, a specific area that has been gentrified by many non-Chinese people.
Oh, I think I’ve heard of it, but I’m not sure if I know it correctly. This seems to be the area between Chinatown and the Lower East Side. It’s kind of the area where there are a lot of art galleries and non-Asian businesses moving in.
As you mentioned, they are non-Asian businesses; and Dimes Square could be an example of how non-Asian businesses use the concept of Chinatown or Asian culture. What do you think about that?
It’s basically where the interest in Chinatown is located, and maybe the media has exoticized or fetishized it. For example, there’s a very local mall called East Broadway Mall, and the abandoned mall across the street is now full of art galleries run by White people. Then there’s also a store called Hypebeast, which is obviously not catered to the local community and serves sneakerheads or hipsters.
There are both good and bad sides. On the one hand, it brings new vitality and renewed interest to Chinatown. People may not travel to Chinatown for dim sum but may visit these non-Asian businesses. And these shops are obviously making a lot of money by being in this neighborhood where the rent is relatively cheaper than in the rest of the city. So it depends on what they do afterward: What are they really contributing to Chinatown? Are they still supporting Chinatown businesses? This is questionable; they increase foot traffic and interest in the neighborhood but also push up rent prices and force out traditional mom-and-pop shops. Those who are more catered towards the local community may not be able to afford rent because of non-Asian businesses.
But are there any non-Asian business owners who genuinely contribute to the Chinatown community?
Yeah, I would say so. There is a non-Asian-owned place called Spongies Cafe on Baxter Street, which specializes in Chinese-style sponge cakes. The owner of that place is actually a Mexican and his wife. But even though they’re not Chinese, Fernando has been working in Chinatown for over 30 years, and he speaks Cantonese. That’s how he connected with the local community.
That’s a good example of cultural appreciation.
Exactly. What he serves at his cafe are Chinese-style sponge cakes, definitely a great addition to the Chinatown community. Many customers are Chinese grandmas and grandpas who love their sponge cake.
But what about the appropriation side?
Absolutely! It’s happening in Chinatown. You will often see people who are clearly not from the community, but who would like to use Chinatown as a backdrop for photoshoots or music videos. There was a major scandal: a fashion designer took photographs in front of a mural in Chinatown, created by the Wing on Wo project on Mosco Street. He used that mural as a backdrop, but then he erased the details — he photoshopped off a bilingual land acknowledgment, stating that Chinatown was once Native American land. It caused a major controversy because he exactly removed Chinatown’s identity just to fit into the photoshoot.
Given that things are rapidly changing, what do you expect the future of Chinatown to look like?
While the pandemic brought some devastation to Chinatown, many positive and new changes were also brought to the community. For example, we now have all the lanterns, beautiful murals, and a lot of cool businesses. With all of this new energy, a lot of Asian and Chinese American youth are being drawn back to Chinatown because there are so many exciting new things going on. Having your own small business in Chinatown is super cool for entrepreneurs these days, and young Asian Americans are opening up new businesses as Chinatown is seen as a “trendy” location. Although gentrification transformed Chinatown into a cool and artsy neighborhood, Chinatown has been very resilient and ever-changing. That’s why I would like to see how Chinatown is going to progress.
