Chinatowns in Queens

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Coordinates: 40°44′32″N 73°52′43″W / 40.7422°N 73.8786°W / 40.7422; -73.8786
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Chinatown, Flushing
)
Chinatowns in Queens
Tâi-lô
Hông-hiō-khu Tn̂g-lâng-kue

There are multiple

borough of Queens in New York City. The original Queens Chinatown emerged in Flushing, initially as a satellite of the original Manhattan Chinatown, before evolving its own identity, surpassing in scale the original Manhattan Chinatown,[1] and subsequently, in turn, spawning its own satellite Chinatowns in Elmhurst, Corona, and eastern Queens. As of 2023, illegal Chinese immigration to New York has accelerated, and its Flushing neighborhood has become the present-day global epicenter receiving Chinese immigration as well as the international control center directing such migration.[2]

Context

The

Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, not to mention fledgling ethnic Chinese enclaves emerging throughout the New York City metropolitan area. Chinese Americans, as a whole, have had a significant tenure in New York City. The first Chinese immigrants came to Lower Manhattan around 1870, looking for the "golden" opportunities America had to offer.[6] By 1880, the enclave around Five Points was estimated to have from 200 to as many as 1,100 members.[6]

However, the

Chinese immigrants.[7]

Citywide demographics

See also:
Chinese Americans in New York City

As the city proper with the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia by a wide margin, estimated at 628,763 as of 2017,

Queens, adjacently located on Long Island, leading the fastest growth.[10][11]
After the City of New York itself, the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn encompass the largest Chinese populations, respectively, of all municipalities in the United States.

Rank Borough Chinese Americans Density of Chinese Americans per square mile in borough Percentage of Chinese Americans in borough's population
1 Queens, Chinatowns (皇后華埠) (2014)[12] 237,484 2,178.8 10.2
2 Brooklyn, Chinatowns (布魯克林華埠) (2014)[13] 205,753 2,897.9 7.9
3 Manhattan, Chinatown (曼哈頓華埠) (2014)[14] 107,609 4,713.5 6.6
4 Staten Island (2012) 13,620 232.9 2.9
5 The Bronx (2012) 6,891 164 0.5
New York City (2014) 573,388[15] 1,881.1 6.8

Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠)

Flushing Chinatown
Borough
Queens
RegionLong Island
Area codes718, 347, 929, and 917
Chinatown, Flushing
Tâi-lô
Huat-la-sīng Huâ-poo

Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), or Mandarin Town Flushing (國語埠法拉盛)

Northern Boulevard. The Flushing–Main Street station is the busiest New York City Subway station outside Manhattan. The Flushing Chinatown houses over 30,000 individuals born in China alone, the largest Chinatown by this metric outside Asia and one of the largest and fastest-growing Chinatowns in the world.[1] Flushing is undergoing rapid gentrification by Chinese transnational entities.[18]

History

Before Chinatown

Main article: Flushing, Queens § History

In 1645, Flushing was established by

anglicization
of the Dutch name of that town.

In 1664, the English took control of

towns which comprised the county.[19] Many historical references to Flushing are to this town, bounded from Newtown on the west by Flushing Creek (now often called the Flushing River), from Jamaica on the south by the "hills"—that is, the terminal moraine left by the last glacier, and from Hempstead on the east by what later became the Nassau County
line. The town was dissolved in 1898 when Queens became a borough of New York City, and the term "Flushing" today usually refers to a much smaller area, including the former Village of Flushing and the areas immediately to the east and south. It was later settled by multiple ethnicities, including people of European, Hispanic, South-West Asian, African, and eventually East Asian ancestry.

Emergence as Little Taipei / Little Taiwan

In the 1970s, a Chinese community established a foothold in Flushing, whose demographic constituency had been predominantly white, interspersed with a small

Chinese Nationalist Party, which had lost the war against the Chinese Communist Party, and established themselves in Taiwan. Along with immigrants from Taiwan at this time, a large South Korean
population has also called Flushing home.

Before the 1970s,

educational standards and socioeconomic status, could not relate to Manhattan's Chinatown, and chose to settle in Flushing instead. As the Taiwanese population grew, a Flushing Chinatown was created with a higher standard of living
and better housing conditions.

Mandarin Town, Flushing

The intersection of Main St and Roosevelt Ave after an early morning rainstorm.

Over the years, many new non-Cantonese ethnic Chinese immigrants from different regions and

Northern Chinese
population in Flushing.

Flushing and its Chinatown abuts the rapidly growing

Long Island Koreatown (롱 아일랜드 코리아타운) as well.[24]

Chinese demographic

The intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue, in the heart of the Chinatown neighborhood, hosts a large concentration of Chinese businesses, including Chinese restaurants. Chinese-owned businesses in particular dominate the area along Main Street and the blocks west of it, while Korean businesses are found in a substantial number east of Main Street and east of the Flushing Chinatown, on Union Street. The majority of signs and advertisements of stores in the area have become Chinese. Ethnic Chinese constitute an increasingly dominant proportion of the Asian population and as well as of the overall population in Flushing. Consequently, Flushing's Chinatown has grown rapidly enough to become the largest Chinatown outside Asia. The Flushing Chinatown has surpassed the original Manhattan Chinatown in size.

Flushing Chinatown, has accelerated.[2] Flushing has become the present-day global epicenter receiving Chinese immigration as well as the international control center directing such migration.[2]

A 1986 estimate by the Flushing Chinese Business Association approximated 60,000 Chinese in Flushing alone.[25] By 1990, Asians constituted 41% of the population of the core area of Flushing, with Chinese in turn representing 41% of the Asian population.[20] However, ethnic Chinese are constituting an increasingly dominant proportion of the Asian population as well as of the overall population in Flushing and its Chinatown. High rates of both legal[26][27] and illegal[28] immigration from Mainland China continue to spur the ongoing rise of the ethnic Chinese population in Flushing, as in all of New York City's Chinatowns.

Bank of China on Main Street in Flushing

Flushing's Chinatown ranks as New York City's largest Chinese community with 33,526 Chinese, up from 17,363, a 93% increase. The

Brooklyn Chinatown is the second-largest Chinatown of NYC with 34,218 Chinese residents, up from 19,963 in 2000, a 71% increase. As for Manhattan's Chinatown, its Chinese population declined by 17%, from 34,554 to 28,681 since 2000, to become the third-largest.[29]

Of all the Chinatowns of New York City, the Flushing Chinatown is also the most diverse, with large populations of Chinese groups from various regions of Mainland China and Taiwan. The Northeastern Chinese immigrants are increasingly becoming the largest Chinese group in Flushing.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]

Streetscape

Flushing Chinatown, has accelerated.[2]

Culture

Flushing Chinatown now rivals Manhattan's Chinatown as a center of

Chinese American chain supermarkets.[42][43][44] The segment of Main Street between Roosevelt Avenue and Kissena Boulevard represents the cultural heart of Flushing Chinatown. Flushing's rise as the largest epicenter of Chinese culture outside Asia has been attributed to the remarkable diversity of regional Chinese demographics represented. The growth of the business activity at the core of Downtown Flushing, dominated by the Flushing Chinatown, has continued to flourish despite the Covid-19 pandemic.[45]

Languages

Many languages are spoken in Flushing Chinatown. English can be heard alongside many

Wenzhounese) and Cantonese, while Hakka varieties and Mongolian
are now emerging.

Cuisine

The popular styles of

Xinjiang, and Zhejiang cuisine. Even the relatively obscure Dongbei style of cuisine indigenous to Northeast China is now available in Flushing,[48] as well as Mongolian cuisine and Uyghur cuisine.[41] These diverse Chinese immigrant populations have brought with them their own regional food cuisines which have led to Flushing being considered the "food mecca" for Chinese regional cuisine outside of Asia.[49][50]

Media

The World Journal, one of the largest Chinese-language newspapers outside China, is headquartered in adjacent Whitestone, Queens, with offices in Flushing as well.[51] Numerous other Chinese newspapers such as the China Press, Sing Tao Daily, The Epoch Times, as well as other English-language publications, are available in the Flushing Chinatown.

SinoVision, one of the largest Chinese-speaking media networks in North America, also has headquarters in Flushing.

Educational centers

In accompaniment with its rapid growth, Flushing in particular has witnessed the proliferation of highly competitive businesses touted as educational centers

buxiban
).

Public institutions and services

A branch of the Queens Public Library in Flushing Chinatown.

The largest of the Flushing branches of the

Queens Borough Public Library is located at the intersection of Kissena Boulevard and Main Street.[54]
This library houses an auditorium for public events.

New York Hospital Queens, a member of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System, is a major medical center providing Flushing as well as surrounding communities with comprehensive medical care services.[55] Numerous tertiary medical clinics also serve the residents of Flushing.

A diverse array of social services geared toward assisting recent as well as established

Chinese immigrants is readily available in Flushing.[56]

Transportation

The

Van Wyck Expressway. There are also multiple dollar van
services shuttling passengers between Flushing Chinatown and the other Chinatowns in New York City and Long Island.

Political clout

The political stature of Flushing Chinatown appears to be increasing significantly. Taiwan-born John Liu, former New York City Council member representing District 20, which includes Flushing Chinatown and other northern Queens neighborhoods, was elected New York City Comptroller in November 2009. Concomitantly, Peter Koo, born in Shanghai, China was elected to succeed Liu to assume this council membership seat.

Controversy

In March 2019, The New York Times reported that the Flushing Chinatown has also become the epicenter of

sex trade.[59]

Satellite Chinatowns

Chinatown in Elmhurst

The Elmhurst Chinatown on Broadway, a satellite of Flushing Chinatown.

Indonesian, Thai, and Vietnamese. Hong Kong Supermarket and New York Supermarket serve as the largest Chinese supermarkets selling different food varieties to this Elmhurst Chinatown.[61][62] Financial institutions
have emerged along Broadway to serve the various Chinese communities of Elmhurst. Like Flushing's Chinatown, it is also very highly populated by Mandarin speakers, although many also speak other languages like Hakka.

Chinese enclave in Corona

An annexation of the Elmhurst Chinatown is the neighborhood of Corona, emerging as a Chinatown geographically connecting the larger Chinatowns in Flushing and Elmhurst.[63]

Chinese enclave in Whitestone

Chinese Americans have migrated into Whitestone, given the sizeable presence of the neighboring Flushing Chinatown, and have continued their expansion eastward in Queens and into neighboring, highly educated Nassau County on Long Island, which has become the leading suburban destination in the U.S. for Chinese.[64][65][66] The World Journal, the largest Chinese-language newspaper in the United States[64] and one of the largest Chinese-language newspapers outside China, with a daily circulation of 350,000, is headquartered in Whitestone.[51] The New York office of Hong Kong-based Lee Kum Kee International Holdings Ltd. is also located in Whitestone.[67]

See also

Chinatowns:

Koreatowns:

References

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40°44′32″N 73°52′43″W / 40.7422°N 73.8786°W / 40.7422; -73.8786

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