Chinatown’s Fight Against Displacement

Chinatown has always been the heart of my world. It’s where I went to school, where my friends and family work and live, where we get our weekly groceries, and where my favorite mom-and-pop restaurants thrive. But as time goes on, Chinatown is being increasingly threatened. What was once a haven for East Asian immigrants and a thriving multi-generational community is now a neighborhood being reshaped by gentrification and exploitation, driving out the very people who make Chinatown what it is.

In 2008, Mayor Bloomberg passed the East Village rezoning act that protected a rich, predominantly white neighborhood from luxury development. At the same time, however, it left Chinatown, a historically working-class and immigrant community, vulnerable to the greed of real estate developers. Similarly, Mayor Eric Adam’s City of Yes for Housing Opportunity (COYHO)—advertised as a solution to our city’s housing crisis—will only worsen displacement in Chinatown. The plan creates more incentives to build luxury towers and has no binding affordability requirements, thus working in the developers’ favor. The plan prioritizes profits and worsens the gentrification that Chinatown residents are already struggling with.

This pattern is also seen in NYC’s plan to build the world’s tallest jail right in the heart of the neighborhood. The proposed “Mega-Jail” is promoted as a solution to our city’s overcrowded prison system and is intended to replace Rikers Island. The development would lead to increased property values, rent, and commercialization, pushing out residents that have lived in the area for years or even decades. Construction of the jail continues despite community opposition, largely due to the endorsement of institutions like The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA). MOCA, which claims to pride itself in working to preserve Chinese American culture and history, turned its back on the very community it was meant to serve. The institution accepted a $35 million bribe in exchange for supporting Mayor de Blasio’s jail plan, selling out the Chinatown community in turn. While the jail itself is not a luxury development, it is a precursor for gentrification in the surrounding area. City officials framed the jail construction as an urban “renewal” effort that will attract other investments in the area and open up real estate opportunities. This is both state- and market-driven gentrification where government officials play a direct role in reshaping Chinatown. These efforts are also propelled by private investors who see development potential. The museum's co-chairperson, Jonathan Chu, who negotiated the jail bribe, owns luxury buildings across Chinatown that are significant contributors to gentrification in the area. Wealthy developers like Chu gain the most from the City of Yes plan, whose approval, along with that of the Mega Jail, reveal a “profits over preservation” mentality when it comes to our city’s policies. 

The museum’s actions were also criticized after former director Nancy Yao Maasbach asked Chinese protesters if they knew what was written on their signs in English, confronted them by throwing free tote bags at them, and claimed that Chinese people getting “paid to protest” was a historical trend. This not only highlights the museum’s disregard for the Chinatown community, but also the racism that underlies its interactions with local activists. 

However, MOCA is not the only institution that turns a blind eye to Chinatown’s community. In 2022, a report accused the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) of wage theft and of the exploitation of their home health aide workers. The CPC forces their employees to work 24-hour shifts for as little as $10 an hour. President Wayne Ho outright denied the accusations despite an overwhelming amount of evidence and testimonies from workers. 

Last year, home care workers went on a hunger strike outside of city hall in response to city council speaker Adrienne Adams’ refusal to vote on the No More 24 Act bill—a bill that would end the abusive practice of forced 24-hour labor. In addition, the Lower East Side (LES) created their own rezoning plan that would counter COYHO. The Chinatown Working Group (CWG) Plan aims to create more affordable housing and protect the area. However, Council Member Margaret Chin refused to support the plan at first. She later proposed a watered-down version of the CWG plan that only protects a small portion of the area, excluding many communities of color in the LES. These blatant injustices still remain largely ignored in the media. Both the city and the CPC have ignored the protests, and the issues still persist. 

This gentrification and exploitation both contribute to the displacement occurring in Chinatown and are reinforced by the model minority myth, a stereotype that paints all Asian Americans as successful, law-abiding, and upwardly mobile in society. While seemingly positive, this false homogenization invalidates the community’s struggles with housing, poverty, exploitation, and violence, excluding it from conversations about racial inequality. As seen with current events, the myth perpetuates the idea that Asian Americans do not need or deserve the same amount of advocacy as other minorities. Their resistance is downplayed or downright ignored, and their issues are treated as less urgent. The model minority myth also overlooks class divisions, allowing corrupt, wealthy members of the community, such as Margaret Chin and Wayne Ho, to engage in performative and institutionalized forms of “activism.” Meanwhile, activists from the middle and lower classes of the local Asian American community, such as the small business owners and health workers of Chinatown, fail to receive that same visibility. Despite the work of groups like Youth Against Discrimination raising awareness about Chinatown, almost all articles published were by local or small neighborhood news outlets. In comparison, there are Wikipedia pages and dozens of articles on the work of Margaret Chin and other wealthy representatives of the community. This invisibility in public discourse and policy discussions is part of the reason why Asian Americans continue to be exploited. 

In a larger context, the model minority myth serves a narrative that distracts from systemic inequalities that affect all communities of color. The idea that Asians are “successful” because they simply prioritize education more than other races not only ignores their diverse experiences, but also diverts attention from systems of oppression that are barriers to education for other communities of color. It’s an example of how easy it is to blame the struggles of minority groups on individual choices and cultural values instead of systemic inequality. By suggesting that some groups deserve less attention, visibility, or resources due to their “successes,” this narrative weakens the solidarity needed to address racial injustice and institutional corruption across communities. Representation is so important in these situations as it gives us the chance to tell our stories and break stereotypes. 

Whether it is by gentrification, urban development, or exploitation, these problems are not just felt by lower Manhattan, but cities throughout the nation. In 2021, census data showed that Bedford-Stuyvesant’s white population rose by 30,000 and its black population fell by 22,000 over the last decade following increased housing prices during that time period. Just a few months ago, Columbia students rallied with the New York Interfaith Commission for Housing Equity to protest the university’s gentrification of Harlem, another historically black community. Columbia’s Manhattanville campus expansion threatens to raise property values in the surrounding area, which is bad news as housing prices have already seen a 247 percent increase in the area in the past decade. So far, the commission’s “defend Harlem” social media campaign has been successful since 2010, but the university is still seeking to purchase the 125th street and Fairway properties, taking away housing and economic opportunities from the community. While this remains an ongoing struggle, there is hope in the victories of other communities facing gentrification crises. Recently, protesters in South Philadelphia won a battle against the construction of a $1.3 billion arena for the 76ers in Center City. The building would have had terrible consequences for the Chinatown nearby, but due to the work of community members and votes of council members, construction plans were halted. These issues across different areas are examples of how gentrification and exploitation aren’t isolated incidents, but larger systems of oppression that target communities of color.  

It’s crucial that we join the fight for New York’s Chinatown to stop further displacement. By pushing for the passage of the No More 24 Act and supporting alternative zoning plans like the CWG plan, we can push to ensure that working class Asian Americans are represented in decisions made about their community. One way to start supporting the movement against the displacement in Chinatown, especially as students, is by joining Youth Against Displacement’s picket line in front of MOCA, Thursdays to Sundays from 11am to 1pm. Other strategies are to educate about displacement issues in the city or to organize boycotts of the companies responsible, such as CPC. Even something as simple as just talking about displacement can be a catalyst for change by simply making sure everyone in your community understands the consequences and is motivated to take action. The fight for the Lower East Side community is only one part of the fight to preserve communities of color. Standing together for even just one cause and uniting across racial, cultural, or economic bridges can drive real change!