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...

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...

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...

Abstract Stanley Toy talks about immigrating to United States alone when he was 14 or 15 as a paper son. Toy first began work in a laundry and went on to farm-work before getting an article published in a Chinese American newspaper. Later on he learned to dance and was able to begin performing in his 20s. After getting drafted in the 1940s, Toy continued to dance and eventually was balancing several jobs including performing. He speaks briefly about his relationship with family and how his...

Abstract Toby Turkel is a Jewish woman who was born and raised in East New York, Brooklyn, and moved to Chinatown in the mid-seventies. She is an active community member, serving as the president of Chatham Towers, a co-op in Chinatown, as well as the vice president of Synagogue for the Arts. During this oral history, she begins by discussing her childhood in East New York and her personal journey that led her to live independently on the Lower East Side beginning in the sixties. Turkel later got...

Abstract By outlining the experiences of the two prior generations, Tony Giordano explains in the interview how his family of Italian heritage came to be in Brooklyn. He focuses on his father occupations; ultimately one as a bus driver. Giordano describes his upbringing in terms of his family apartment housing, Brooklyn neighborhoods, vacations on Long Island, education from first grade through college, and his Roman Catholic religious experience. The interview is in depth on his experience of losing...

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Vivian Ku, owner of the fast-casual Taiwanese restaurant Pine & Crane, talks about her journey to opening up her restaurant and the decisions she made along the way. She particularly details how her family’s background and her grandmother’s cooking influenced what dishes she puts on her menu and what type of restaurant she wishes to run. Her belief in the family values behind the Chinese food culture continues to drive her down the path as a restauranteur.

Abstract Tomie Arai and Janice Lau sit down with Wing Lee to discuss his life and his experience growing up in and around New York City’s Chinatown in the ‘60s through the ‘80s. Wing talks about what it was like as a kid being raised in the US with Chinese parents, and growing up on the streets of Chinatown. He talks about the schools he went to in the area, and all the spots the neighborhood kids used to hang out. Later on in his late teenage years, he describes the experience at a popular...

Abstract Yun Xing Huang was interviewed by MOCA to talk about his immigration and living experiences in New York City’s Chinatown. As a professional singer, Huang owned a nightclub in Fujian before coming to the US during the prevalent immigration wave in China. He worked as a food delivery person before opening a floral shop on his own, singing songs for wedding parties, and acting in films. He praised the brave spirit of Fujianese people but touched upon the geographical discrimination between...

Abstract This oral history focuses on Yvette Lee, a Chinese American home cook who was born and raised in Pauoa Valley, Honolulu, Hawaii. The daughter of two immigrants from Hong Kong, Yvette Lee learned to cook from watching her parents in the kitchen. A pescatarian, Lee derived inspiration for her homey, eclectic cooking style from the vegan dishes her mother made when she was a child, as well as from Hawaii’s rich cultural diversity. In this oral history, Lee discusses food as a means of...