November 3, 2012, Saturday, 307

Flushing Culture

From The Peopling of New York City

 
 
Culture
 
 
 

Contents

Cultural Diversity

Flushing Library's collection of newspapers
Flushing is a culturally diverse place, with a population made up of many races and religions. The dominant population depends on where exactly in Flushing a person is, but there are some populations that heavily dominate over others. Many parts of Flushing have a heavy Asian population, with either the Chinese population, Taiwanese population or the Korean population dominating depending on the part of Flushing. There is also a significant Latino population as well as smaller populations of Greeks, Italians, Russians, African-Americans and South Asians. At the Flushing Library, one can find a very large international section. The library has movies, CDs, DVDs and books from all the cultures and ethnicities listed above and many others as well. It also has a very extensive collection of newspapers in various languages.
 
Flushing 050.jpg
The most culturally diverse part of Flushing would have to be the area around Main Street, which is the also one of the economic hubs of the area. This area has stores and businesses that cater to the heavy Chinese, Taiwan and Korean populations that live there. There are grocery shops that cater to these populations, selling ethnic foods that would be harder to come by in other places. One such place is the large Hong Kong Plaza found on Main Street. There are also larger, more prominent businesses, many of them financial based, that have integrated the community around them into their business as well. This integration is most easily seen in the fact that along many of the streets of Flushing in and around Main Street there are many signs in Chinese and Korean. Almost all businesses here, whether they are family operated or globally run, have signs, billboards, and posters in both English and Chinese and Korean, advertising their product. This just shows how strongly these populations have affected this community – here the community has chosen to adapt so as to cater to the populations living there, rather than forcing the population to adjust to the community.
 
Signs in Chinese and Korean found around Downtown Flushing
Asian ethnic food sold at a grocery store
 
Due to the fact that Flushing is home to a large Chinese and East Asian population, Flushing hosts many Chinese New Year celebrations, including the well-known Chinese New Year Parade. Each year about 4000 people march in the parade enjoying the performances of dragon dancers and steel drummers, and looking forward to the celebration in Flushing Mall.



A video of the 2008 Chinese New Year Parade held in Flushing.
 
Another cultural event takes place in the summer on August 4 and 5 in Flushing Meadow Park. In this event over 100 teams compete for prizes that are over $60,000. There is all sorts of ethnics foods as well as shows and activities. This Festival is an annual event in the park and draws many visitors as the admission is free.
A Chinese Restaurant in Flushing[1]
 
Flushing also has a variety of restaurants that cater to many of the populations living here. Along and near Main St. one can find many Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean restaurants. They range from primarily small, more inexpensive restaurants that are mostly just take-out fast-food, to larger, fancier and more expensive establishments that are more appropriate for sit-downs meals. The food itself also ranges from what is termed “Asian-American” food to more authentic Asian food. It has been said that Flushing is one of the few places in the city where you can find authentic Asian food. Some of the better-known restaurants in this area include Laifood, which serves Taiwanese food, Pho Vietnamese Restaurant, Kum Gang Inc, a Korean restaurant, and Green Papaya Thai Cuisine, among many others. South of Main Street, there are some South Asian and Latino stores and restaurants that cater to the ethnic needs and desires of the smaller populations that live in Flushing.


Landmarks in Flushing

Community Centers


 
China Buddhist Association
New York Taiwan Center
There are also many community centers, places of worships and landmarks in Flushing. Some of the community centers clearly represent the large Asian community – within just blocks of each other, Flushing contains both the New York Taiwan Center and the China Buddhist Association. The New York Taiwan Center was founded in 1986, and was at first created to help mostly the Taiwanese community and some of the latter immigrants in New York. These days however, it is more of a community center that focuses on the whole community, regardless of ethnicity and cultural background. The center provides cultural, educational and human services. They provide language, cultural and recreational classes; they also have programs for senior citizens and programs for younger children and students; they have a free clinic in the center and it also hosts free Thanksgiving diners; they also have an arts and cultural program that promotes Taiwanese culture and puts on musical shows. Overall the center has become a large part of the community life, especially for the Taiwanese population that lives in Flushing, giving them a connection to their own culture. The China Buddhist Association plays a similar role in Flushing, advocating the Chinese Buddhist culture and acting as a place of worship as well.







Places of Worship


Another place of worship in this community is the historic St. George’s Church, which has served the Flushing community since 1702. The present building of the church was built in 1854 in the Neo-Gothic style by Wills and Dudley, however congregations were held prior to that in a different building. This church has a very diverse congregation, with people who represent over twenty different nations. Back when it was first built, the church accommodated a heavy European immigrant population, mostly from England, Germany and Holland. However, over the past few decades, Flushing has greatly changed. While the church still has a large number of the parish members who are immigrants, they come from many different places in the world including Asia, the West Indies, and several Latin nations. The services, which used to be only in English, have recently branched out; a service in Chinese was started in 1988 and a Hispanic service was started in 1993.
 
The service schedule at St. George's Episcopal Church
The plaque on St. Geroge's Church
St. George's Episcopal Church



Historical Attractions



The 160 year old Weeping Beech Tree [2]
Flushing is a significant historic area of Queens and New York City, and therefore has many landmarks and areas of historical significance. The Queens Historical Society tries to keep these landmarks well preserved. The Society is actually housed in one of Flushing’s major landmarks, the Kingsland Homestead. The Homestead, which was built around 1785, sits in the shade of another landmark, the 160 year old Weeping Beech Tree. The house was built by the son of a wealthy Quaker and the name Kingsland comes from the builder’s son-in-law, Joseph King, who bought the house from his father-in-law. Currently this 223 year old building is open for exhibition, with the first floor dedicated to showing the history of Queens and the second floor is designed in the style of a middle class Victorian family, giving people of the 21st century a taste of life from back in the 19th century.


Lewis H. Latimer [3]
Other landmarks in Flushing include the Bowne House and the Latimer House. John Bowne, who moved from Boston to Flushing, Queens when the area was still under Dutch rule, built Bowne House in 1649. The man and his house have become famous for his fight against the then ruler of New Amsterdam, Peter Stuyvesant , over religious freedom. When Stuyvesant banned all but one religion including that of Quakers, Bowne allowed Quakers to meet in house to hold services there. Bowne, who was imprisoned and sent to Holland, ended up winning his case against Stuyvesant for the right to practice one’s religion freely. Bowne House is now a museum and the Bowne House Historical Society keeps up its property. It preserves the house and the grounds, giving us a glimpse of the house where such historical events occurred. The Latimer House is the house of Lewis H. Latimer (1848-1928). He was the son of an escaped slave, and he went on to work on electricity and lighting technology under Thomas Edison. The house, which was purchased by Latimer in 1903, has been turned into a museum under the care of the Latimer Fund.


Inside the Flushing Town Hall during Chinese New Year's
Among other landmarks is the Flushing Town Hall, which is now the home of the Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts. These days the Hall showcases arts and music from different cultures and different periods in history. It also offers many art and educational programs for the community, as well as giving business to local artists and organizations. The Quaker Meeting House is also of great significance. It was and still remains a house of worship for the Quakers. It was built in 1694 by John Bowne and other Quakers and is the oldest house of worship in New York State.

For more information about the Quaker Meeting House and John Bowne and his fight for religious tolerance, click here.



Landmarks in Downtown Flushing

 


A map of Downtown Flushing with many of the landmarks denoted. Click on the balloons for pictures of the landmarks.


References

"Welcome to the Taiwan Center." Taiwan Center. 2008. 9 Mar 2008 <http://nytaiwancenter.us/index.html>.

"Welcome to The Bowne House Historical Society." The Bowne House Historical Society. 2008. The Bowne House Historical Society. 25 Apr 2008 <http://www.bownehouse.org/index.htm>.

"Flushing Quaker Meeting House." Flushing Monthly Meeting . 2008. Flushing Monthly Meeting . 25 Apr 2008 <http://www.nyym.org/flushing/hmh.html>.

"Kingsland Homestead." The Queens Historical Society. 2007. The Queens Historical Society. 25 Apr 2008 <http://www.queenshistoricalsociety.org/kingsland.html>.

"Lewis H. Latimer House." Historic House Trust. 2006. Historic House Trust. 25 Apr 2008 <http://www.historichousetrust.org/item.php?i_id=39>.

"Community and Library Information: Flushing." Queens Library. 9 Mar 2008 <http://www.queenslibrary.org/index.aspx?page_id=44&section_id=12&branch_id=F >

"Welcome to Flushing Town Hall." Flushing Town Hall. 2008. Flushing Town Hall. 25 Apr 2008 <http://www.flushingtownhall.org/>

"The History." St. George's Church. 2005. St. George's Flushing. 13 Apr 2008 <http://www.sg1702.org/english/about.htm>

"Forgotten Tour #6: Flushing Freedom." Forgotten NY. 2008. Forgotten NY. 27 Apr 2008 <http://www.forgotten-ny.com/forgotflush/flushing.html>

"Flushing, Queens: Guide to Eating Out." Queens, NY. 2008. About.com. 6 Apr 2008. <http://queens.about.com/cs/neighborhoods/a/tour_flushing_3.htm>

"Blueprint for Change:The Life and Times of Lewis H. Latimer." The Life and Times of Lewis H. Latimer. 2005. The Life and Times of Lewis H. Latimer. 27 Apr 2008. <http://edison.rutgers.edu/latimer/blueprnt.htm>

"Weeping Beech Park." Weeping Beech Park. 2007. Big Map. 24 Apr 2008. <http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/bigmap/queens/flushing/weepingbeechpark/index.htm>

"Chinese New Year, Flushing , New York 2008." Youtube. 2008. Youtube. 27 Apr 2008. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zHhc3MFXBQ>

Roleke, John. "Dragon Boat Festival in Flushing Meadows Queens." About.com. 11 July 2007. About.com. 6 May 2008 <http://queens.about.com/b/2007/07/11/dragon-boat-festival-august-13-14-in-flushing-meadows.htm>.