Chinatown Signs
by Ed Weidman
Title
Chinatown Signs
Artist
Ed Weidman
Medium
Photograph - Photographs
Description
There are multiple Chinatowns in the borough of Queens in New York City. Flushing hosted the inception of the original Queens Chinatown, initially as a satellite of the Manhattan Chinatown, before evolving its own identity and in turn spawning its own satellite Chinatowns in Elmhurst, Corona, and eastern Queens.Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), or Mandarin Town Flushing (國語埠法拉盛)[10] in Flushing, is one of the largest and fastest growing ethnic Chinese enclaves outside of Asia, as well as within New York City itself. In Mandarin, Flushing is known as "Falasheng" (Chinese: 法拉盛; pinyin: Fǎlāsh�ng). Flushing Chinatown is in Main Street and the area to its west, particularly along Roosevelt Avenue, have become the primary nexus of Flushing Chinatown. However, Chinatown continues to expand southeastward along Kissena Boulevard and northward beyond Northern Boulevard.
Over the years, many new non-Cantonese ethnic Chinese immigrants from different regions and provinces of China started to arrive in New York City. This led to the creation of a more Mandarin-speaking Chinatown or Mandarin Town (國語埠) that gradually replaced Little Taipei. This wave of immigrants spoke Mandarin and other varieties of Chinese. Like the Taiwanese, they faced cultural and communication problems in Manhattan's Cantonese-speaking Chinatown and settled in Flushing as well as Elmhurst, Queens, which also has a significant Mandarin-speaking population. Flushing's Chinese population became very diverse over the next few decades as people from different provinces started to arrive, infusing their different linguistic and cultural features into its Chinatown.
Flushing and its Chinatown abuts the rapidly growing Long Island Koreatown (롱 아일랜드 코리아타운) as well.
The intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue, the business center for Flushing, on the westernmost edge of the neighborhood, has a large concentration of Chinese and Korean businesses, including Asian restaurants. Chinese-owned businesses in particular dominate the area along Main Street and the blocks west of it. 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 second-largest Chinatown outside of Asia. In fact, the Flushing Chinatown may surpass the original Manhattan Chinatown itself within a few years.
A 1986 estimate by the Flushing Chinese Business Association approximated 60,000 Chinese in Flushing alone. By 1990, Asians constituted 41% of the population of the core area of Flushing, with Chinese in turn representing 41% of the Asian population.[12] 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 lega and illegal 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.
According to a Daily News article, Flushing's Chinatown ranks as New York City's second largest Chinese community with 33,526 Chinese, up from 17,363, a 93% increase. The Brooklyn Chinatown (布鲁克林華埠) now ranks #1 as the 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 rank #3.
Uploaded
November 29th, 2015
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Comments (17)
Ed Weidman
thank you carole,val,nader and denise for the features in world landscape lovers of art,welcome to madness,fine art professionals,and all aspects of abstract art!
Alec Drake
Congratulations on your feature in "How Bold Thou Art"...we are very pleased to share this vibrant, colorful work with our group members and visitors. like/fav
Ed Weidman
honored to be featured by tanya,colette,geordie,romuald,chuck,tina,jim and mark in their groups abstract moods,orange yellow red photogrpahy,new york new york,arts fantastic world,street art,artists best five artworks,abstract photography and paints,what interrobang,and murals and signs!
Jim Williams
ED, please submit this to another of my groups, FONT ART. < http://fineartamerica.com/groups/tell-tall-tales.html >. LF, WHAT?!