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...

Abstract CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities is a nonprofit community outreach organization dedicated to empowering poor and working class Asian immigrants and refugees in New York City. In this interview, four high school-aged summer interns at CAAAV describe their contributions to a map project that documents the Chinatown landscape. Through excursions in Chinatown, interviews with local residents, and extensive research, these students analyzed the force of gentrifications in New Yorks Lower East...

Abstract Cambao de Duong is a Chinese-Vietnamese immigrant born in Saigon, South Vietnam to Chinese parents. Cambao grew up in a multicultural environment and learned to speak Chao Chow, Vietnamese, Cantonese, and Mandarin. He would receive a high level of education in Vietnam, and inspired by one of his principals, became an educator. De Duong would teach at the college level until he received an officer commission in the South Vietnam army. Given his previous service in the South Vietnamese...

Abstract Cecilia Chiang her incredible life story from wartime China all the way to becoming a restaurant owner in New York City. Her interview is riddled with her fascinations towards Chinese cuisine as she narrates the role Chinese cuisine has made during the turbulent events of her life, from her journey to Chongqing during the Japanese invasion of China to her time in Japan. She expresses her fondness of Chinese cuisine through a genuine desire to share the wonderful variety of Chinese food as...

Abstract Charlie Lai along with Jack Tchen are founders of the Chinatown History Project, which has gone on to become the Museum of Chinese in America. In this five part interview conducted over the course of several months Charlie talks about his childhood in Hong Kong and how his family eventually decided to immigrate to the United States when he was nine years old. He talks about living with his uncle when they first arrived in the states and saying on Long Island. His family eventually moves into...

Abstract Born in Chongqing, China and raised in Taiwan, Ching Yeh Chen came to the United States in 1971 to pursue a graduate and masters degree. Chen finally settled in New York and joined her husband operating a retail corporation, Pearl River Market, which was officially founded in 1980. Discussing the history of Pearl River, Chen explains that the corporation had been created to introduce the “real China” to the American society, since as Chen argues there was no significant relationship between...

Abstract Chris Chan is a Chinese immigrant who works for the Chinese Progressive Association (CPA). Born in China, Chris moved to Macau at two years of age following the Communist takeover of China. During his young adult years, he worked as a construction laborer in Hong Kong during the 1970s and 80s construction boom before being sponsored by his sister to immigrate to the United States in 1984. Chris describes the various construction and labor jobs he took on in the early years, the differences...

Abstract Chris Cheung is a Chinese-American chef who owns the restaurant, East Wind Snack Shop. He was raised in Chinatown and Bensonhurst, exposing him to both Chinese and Italian food at a young age. He grew up in 1970s and 1980s New York and recalls generational differences in Chinese restaurants. The teahouses that he enjoyed as a child have transformed. As Cheung grew older, he worked at several Asian restaurants. He began to work with high profile names in the culinary world; he learned...

Abstract Ming Xian Lin, also known as Cindy, tells MOCA about her experience immigrating to Chinatown from Shanghai where she had worked first as a farmer during the cultural revolution and then as a telephone operator. She discusses what Chinatown looked like in the early 1990s when she arrived, going into depth about her experiences working in different garment factories and her concerns about the crime in the area. Cindy also explains how the neighborhood has changed and offers some of her...

Abstract Connie Ling, born in the Philippines and later a resident of Hong Kong during the 1960s, summarizes her experiences emigrating with her husband from Hong Kong to New York in 1967. Ling initially lived and worked in Chinatown, where she found employment as a machine operator in a garment factory. During her ten years working for the garment industry, Ling recalls an influx of Chinese immigrants and substantial growth in industrial businesses. After serving as a factory chairwoman for several...