An Outline of History

From The Peopling of NYC

Chinatown as an ethnic enclave

Introduction

• Chinatown has long been established in New York City, since the late 19th C
  • Although a place of tourism, also houses thousands of immigrants
  • Has in the course of history provided numerous services to immigrants
    • Job opportunities
    • Haven from persecution
    • Hospitals and clinics
    • Religious sanctuary and offering of hope
    • Linguistic familiarity
    • Housing

Job opportunities

• Available to legal/illegal immigrants alike
• Network of employment opportunities all over the US
• Jobs are typically centered in service areas
  • Laundromat
  • House sitter/Nannies
  • Restaurants
  • Garment industry
• Also entrepreneurial opportunities
  • Ability to cater to immigrant demand means one can accumulate wealth **from within the enclave

Religion

• Numerous churches/temples
  • Offer service in Chinese, in different dialects
    • To serve the different waves of immigrants in Chinatown
  • Buddhist
  • Christian
  • Daoist
  • Popular religion
    • Worshipped local deities
• Festivities abound, an expression of culture
• America a place of religious freedom
  • In China, religion is repressed
    • “religion is an opiate of the masses” ~Marx

Housing/Living

• Tenement housing
• Often very crowded
  • 3 families in 3 rooms
• Rent control has enabled people to continue living in the city below market price
• Some people live in the stores that they work in
• Churches and temples also provide housing