Staying Afloat Amidst a Sea of Gentrifiers
Half a century later, a Latin American restaurant satisfy locals, despite a surge in trendy eateries in the Lower East Side. A boba shop caters to adventurous taste buds and a Canadian transplant considers the value of community. Whether or not newer residents and restaurateurs intermingle with long time businesses on Clinton Street is questionable.
Historically known as an immigrant, working-class neighborhood, Clinton Street, located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, has seen a wave of newcomers in the past decade. Long time residents and restaurateurs continue to coexist with their new neighbors between East Houston and Delancey Street.
Journeying North to South, a stream of tourists and young, affluent professionals can be seen waiting to be served at Clinton Street Baking Company, sipping on a self-poured, crafted beer across the street, or grabbing a cup of coffee from one the many cafes. Traveling further South, past Koneko Cat Cafe and Ivan Ramen, there is an underlying shift in ambience. Men sit outside on chairs deep in conversation. Or they stand together on a corner smoking cigarettes, while music lofts into the distance. Decades-old shops, like Cibao Restaurant and Santo Domingo Bakery, cater to a different audience, one grounded in community and affordability. In order to discover how these two communities coexist together, a visit to Clinton Street was necessary.
Your Abuela Doesn’t Want Fancy Boba
The first stop down the block is Boba Guys, a bubble tea shop located at 23 Clinton Street. Bubble tea is a popular drink that originated from Taiwan in the 1980s. The “bubbles” otherwise known as “boba” are made of tapioca balls and are accompanied with a milk tea beverage. Founded by Andrew Chau and Bin Chen in 2011, the original Boba Guys opened up in San Francisco. Today, Boba Guys have four locations, three in San Francisco and one in New York City.
Rajan Dumbhalia, 19 is an employee at Boba Guys and has been working since February of 2016. The New York location opened in January. Although Dumbhalia isn’t a resident of the Lower East Side, he lives across East Houston Street in Alphabet City.
“When I think a neighborhood is cute, it’s probably gentrified and Clinton Street is gentrified.”
Although many of the businesses on Clinton Street have opened up in the past five years or so, the restaurants are very friendly with one another according to Dumbhalia. “I would say Clinton Street is a very local, tight knit community,” he said. “However, it’s not authentic New York, tight knit communities that I see in the East Village.” Dumbhalia contrasts the street to the Latin and black communities that have grown up together in the Lower East Side.
While the businesses may be creating a community amongst themselves, through my observation, I have gathered that a lot of their foot traffic comes from tourists. People fly in and out of the neighborhood for its shops and food selection, and don’t spend the time to acquaint themselves with the richly diverse community. Dumbhalia said they do have a few regulars that come in for boba everyday. While this may be true, older, generational residents aren’t going to spend $5.00 for a drink that is so foreign to their taste buds.
Listen to Rajan’s interview here:
A Canadian Transplant Remains Detached from his Neighborhood’s History
Sam Vickars, 24 moved to New York City in August from Vancouver, Canada. He is currently completing a master’s in Visualizing Data, at Parsons School of Design . Vickars lives on Clinton Street between Stanton and Rivington Street.
“I really like the area, it was a close walk to school and the price was right at the time,” he said. Vickars pays $2,500 a month for his one bedroom apartment. His monthly rent serves as a striking contrast to over 15% of household that barely make $10,000 a year in his zip code.
Listen to Sam’s interview here:
“A lot of the times I’m just in the zone and I don’t want to talk to anybody but that could just be my personality. But, I could see the benefits to having a community especially within just the building but also within the block.”
Listen to the sounds of Cibao:
Cibao Restaurant opened up in 1958. It was originally called “Lechonera” but they changed the name in 1978. The restaurant serves Hispanic cuisine, specializing in Dominican and Puerto Rican food.
When you walk into the restaurant, there are about eight tables lined with blue table clothes and oil and vinegar bottles. Brown, wooden chairs with black, leather seats line the tables, many of which are filled with people. You can order at the counter for takeout or grab a seat at a table. When I went in, I ordered and sat down to wait for my food.
The woman behind the counter brought me a basket of bread and butter as I waited for my “arroz con chorizo” (rice with chorizo). To my left was a large refrigerator filled with an assortment of different beverages. Behind me sat a technicolored, jukebox that flashed lights waiting for someone to press play. An older man sat in front of me the whole time I was there. The woman who brought out my food sat and chatted with him for awhile in between jobs.
Unlike the majority of the businesses on Clinton Street, Cibao Restaurant is filled with regulars rather than tourists. People greeted each other with a kiss on the cheek and chatted in Spanish, while they wait for their meal. It’s almost as if time stood still. No one tried to rush me out so they can seat the next hungry customer. Vickars, lives right across the street from Cibao and has never stepped foot inside the restaurant. Although there’s nothing fancy about it’s interior, Cibao Restaurant is warm and inviting. It serves families and locals in the neighborhood who have come in for years and remains affordable. You can easily walk away with spending $10.00, with leftovers to take home. It’s important for places like this to stay open in a neighborhood that has a history so deeply rooted in its immigrants.
Through my observation there seems to be a clear divide between the new restaurants and residents and the older ones. Clinton Street’s demographic is definitely changing, however new residents could do a better job of supporting local businesses. While newer shops seem to be forming a community amongst each other, new residents seem to keep to themselves. This is merely what I have found from my three month observation of the block. However, as I continue to do research in and around my own community I want to continue to look for ways to bring a neighborhood together, despite cultural, and socioeconomic differences.
