Showing Records: 1 - 8 of 8
Interview with Aurora Len, 1997-08-27
Item
Identifier: 2015.007.002
Abstract
Aurora Len, a Chinese-Cuban-American woman discusses her mixed background. She was born in and grew up in Havana, Cuba,where her father owned a fruit store and several other businesses. Though her family was Chinese, her father and his brother were brought to Havana, Cuba by her grandfather at very young age after her grandmother passed away and later her father moved back to China and married her mother. Len herself went to China at age fourteen in 1937 and then moved to the United States...
Dates:
1997-08-27
Oral History Interview with Bert Feinberg, 2008-12-21
Item
Identifier: 2008.040.006
Abstract
Bert Feinberg, native to Brooklyn and long-term resident of New York, describes his experiences in Chinatown and the block often referred to as the Daily Forward block, colloquially named after the Yiddish Daily Forward newspaper. There, Feinberg was employed at a family-owned catering and restaurant business called the Garden Cafeteria. During his time at the Cafeteria between 1949 and 1974, he saw significant demographic changes in the neighborhood. Feinberg initially estimates that the...
Dates:
2008-12-21
Oral History Interview with Betty Sze, 2007-10-25
Item
Identifier: 2008.040.008
Abstract
Betty Sze discusses her vague memory of spending her early childhood playing outside of the Grand Machinery Exchange building, which was located on Centre Street. Her father owned a produce wholesale supply company, while her mother worked in factories. In her interview, she describes gentrification in terms of rent-prices consistently rising, developers becoming more aggressive in planning building projects, and entire neighborhoods such as Little Italy, being taken over by Chinese...
Dates:
2007-10-25
Oral History Interview with Jefferson Li, October 20, 2020
Item
Identifier: 2020.020.028
Abstract
Jefferson Li’s family owns and runs the New York Chinatown butcher shop 47 Division Street Trading Inc. Like many Chinatown businesses, his family business took a huge economic hit due to the pandemic. Li took to the popular social news aggregator website Reddit to try and drum up business by publicizing their low prices to New Yorkers who wouldn’t normally be their primary demographic, becoming a pseudo celebrity in the process. As someone who has been in the Chinatown community prior to...
Dates:
October 20, 2020
Oral History Interview with Johnny Lee, 1993-09-02
Item
Identifier: 1994.007.018
Abstract
In this interview, using a pseudonym, "Johnny Lee" recounts his life history. He recollects being raised in Hong Kong by his mother while his father worked in America. He remembers his time at Chinatown Seward Park High School bilingual program, classmates who dropped out to join Chinese gangs, after-school work as a button-sewer in garment factories, college work as a dishwasher at a Chinese restaurant, and the decision to leave City College to pursue full-time work at an Off-Track Betting...
Dates:
1993-09-02
Oral History Interview with Louis Castaldo, 1994-05-17
Item
Identifier: 1994.007.004
Abstract
In this interview, Lou Castaldo discusses the business of his father; Vinnies Pizzeria was established during the early 1970s in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. He recounts his father coming to America and life before starting the business. Castaldo describes the various ethnic cultures and neighborhoods he observed while growing up in Brooklyn; including significant events, activities, hobbies, family life and traditions. Castaldo recalls a significant period of change in Sunset...
Dates:
1994-05-17
Oral History Interview with Marcella Dear, May 24, 2013
Item
Identifier: 2013.022.006
Abstract
Marcella Dear, a longtime friend of MOCA and a generous donor of over 900 objects, joins us to discuss her exciting life and her memories of Chinatown. Marcella goes into depth about many of the objects she donated, and discusses not only their significance as sentimental objects but also how these objects were used in their original setting, at the Rice Bowl restaurant on Mott Street. Marcella’s father founded the Rice Bowl, and she discusses her childhood growing up in and around the...
Dates:
May 24, 2013
Oral History Interview with Pamela and Tom Lee, 2013-05-25
Item
Identifier: 2013.022.008
Abstract
In this oral history husband and wife Tom and Pamela Lee share their experiences living and working in New York Chinatown. Tom and Pamela discuss their childhoods and how they came to live in New York. They both reflect on working at the butcher shop owned by his family. Tom also discusses the farm his father operated along with the tasks his mother completed at their family business. The couple also contemplates how Chinatown has changed over many decades and the cultural differences each...
Dates:
2013-05-25
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