Walking in Little Italy/Chinatown

[krulltime]

Hey guys, welcome to another of my NYC walking tours. This time I will take you now to Little Italy and Chinatown. As most of you know, there are hardly any Italians left living in Little Italy. But the area still preserves some of the Italian retail and restaurant vibe. Attracting tourists and locals to the area. Especially along Mulberry Street. Yet Chinatown has kept on growing. Eventhough there are two other descent Chinatowns in the city. Well since Manhattan is becoming so expensive only time will tell what will happend to this working class Chinatown. Enjoy my pics.


Little Italy, Manhattan

Little Italy is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York City, once known for its large population of Italians.

Historically, Little Italy extended as far south as Bayard St, as far north as Bleecker, as far west as Lafayette, and as far east as the Bowery. As Italian-Americans left Manhattan for other boroughs and neighborhoods, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, the neighborhood recognizable as Little Italy gradually shrank.

Large portions of the neighborhood were absorbed by Chinatown, as immigrants from China and other East Asian countries moved to the area. The northern reaches of Little Italy, near Houston Street, ceased to be recognizably Italian, and eventually became the neighborhood known today as NoLIta, an abbreviation for North of Little Italy. Today, the section of Mulberry Street between Broome and Canal Streets, lined with Italian restaurants popular with tourists, remains distinctly recognizable as Little Italy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Italy%2C_New_York_City


Chinatown, Manhattan

The Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan — a borough of New York City — is an ethnic enclave with a large population of Chinese immigrants, similar to other Chinatown districts in American cities.

By the 1980s, it had surpassed San Francisco's Chinatown to become the largest enclave of Chinese immigrants in the Western Hemisphere.

Unlike most other urban Chinatowns, Manhattan's Chinatown is both a residential area as well as commercial area. Most population estimates are in the range of 150,000 to 250,000 residents (some estimates go as high as 350,000 residents). It is difficult to get an exact count, as neighborhood participation in the U.S. Census is thought to be low due to language barriers, as well as large-scale illegal immigration. Besides the more than 200 Chinese restaurants in the area for employment, there are still some factories. The proximity of the fashion industry has kept some garment work in the local area though most of the garment industry has moved to China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown%2C_New_York%2C_New_York


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[pianoman11686]

Thanks for the tour, krull.

I always find it incredible that Chinatown - arguably the dirtiest and least aesthetically-pleasing part of Manhattan - can maintain such a high level of activity.

[Stern]

Thanks for the tour, krull.

I always find it incredible that Chinatown - arguably the dirtiest and least aesthetically-pleasing part of Manhattan - can maintain such a high level of activity.

I agree, Chinatown is dirty and aesthetically unpleasing, its also crowded and smells bad (sorry, but its true). What I find really amazing is that its always among the top destinations for tourists. I feel like their getting a bum deal and their missing out (they usually are), but hey, for whatever reasons tourist seem to like it.

Chinatown does have great food, and its cheap, but its not the only place to find such fare.

[Luca]

I think both the posters above are missing a key fact. Jane Jacobs would be very, very cross with you :D

People/tourists do not come to NYC to see a larger version of their pristine country club/cathedral square back home; people are attracted by people.

The messiness, chaos, frenzy that is Chinatown (plus the touch of exoticism) is what people are seeking. Sure, we've all been taught to like/visit famous monuments/museums/squares (a few of us even genuinely like aesthetics), but all people naturally converge to where there is, to use an Italian expression "vita" (life).

As an aside, the old police headquarters building is one of my favorites anywhere from any period.

[MidtownGuy]

^very true. People miss the point.

I always find it incredible that Chinatown - arguably the dirtiest and least aesthetically-pleasing part of Manhattan - can maintain such a high level of activity.

Incredible? Not at all.

[BadByron]

Nice Pictures.

[Stern]

I think both the posters above are missing a key fact. Jane Jacobs would be very, very cross with you :D

People/tourists do not come to NYC to see a larger version of their pristine country club/cathedral square back home; people are attracted by people.

The messiness, chaos, frenzy that is Chinatown (plus the touch of exoticism) is what people are seeking. Sure, we've all been taught to like/visit famous monuments/museums/squares (a few of us even genuinely like aesthetics), but all people naturally converge to where there is, to use an Italian expression "vita" (life).

As an aside, the old police headquarters building is one of my favorites anywhere from any period.


Chinatown sure has alot of people, but so do most places in the City. The Fordham section in the Bronx and the Fulton Mall have just as many people and are among my favorite places in the City, among the reasons is that the I Heart NY t-shirt tourists are almost never to be found.

[antinimby]

Stern, maybe I can help you understand.

New York's Chinatown is unmatched (except for maybe SF's) in its vibrancy and authenticity as far as Chinese food, vibe and overall feel.

Many visitors rarely ever see anything similar back home in their home cities.

Everything at home in Americana is new, clean, neat and smells like Cinnabon instead of sea urchins.

Because Chinatown is the exact opposite of this, that is the very reason why visitors find it interesting and fascinating. It is different than what they've ever seen or experienced before.

New York would lose a tremendous asset if they "cleaned up" and sterilize this ethnic enclave.

With the eventual gentrification due to lack of affordable housing, this sadly is just a matter of time anyway.

Then it'll just become another one of those many other soulless Chinatowns that you see in other cities that only exists for the tourists. In those places, when you walk around you'll notice that non-Asians usually outnumber the Asians.

Not so with Manhattan's, at least for now.

Look at the rest of Manhattan and tell me what is so special about it now that its been thoroughly whitewashed.

Tall buildings with drug stores and bank branches as the retail. Which cities' downtown don't have that?

In fact, plenty of other cities from Chicago to Miami, from Seattle to Philadelphia, from Toronto to Los Angeles are getting better architecture.

It seems like everyone from Pittsburgh to Kansas City to Atlanta to Portland are getting revitalized by masses flocking to the cities again.

Other cities are building taller. Other cities are getting hipper and artsy.

You'd only have to follow the developments and city photos threads of SSP to see that.

Soon if not already, New York won't be that much different than the other cities except it'll just be larger and more expensive. Hardly enough reason to impress other people.

One day soon, New Yorkers will regret they are heading in the direction that this city is clearly heading towards.

[Stern]

Stern, maybe I can help you understand.

New York's Chinatown is unmatched (except for maybe SF's) in its vibrancy and authenticity as far as Chinese food, vibe and overall feel.

Many visitors rarely ever see anything similar back home in their home cities.

Everything at home in Americana is new, clean, neat and smells like Cinnabon instead of sea urchins.

Because Chinatown is the exact opposite of this, that is the very reason why visitors find it interesting and fascinating. It is different than what they've ever seen or experienced before.

New York would lose a tremendous asset if they "cleaned up" and sterilize this ethnic enclave.

With the eventual gentrification due to lack of affordable housing, this sadly is just a matter of time anyway.

Then it'll just become another one of those many other soulless Chinatowns that you see in other cities that only exists for the tourists. In those places, when you walk around you'll notice that non-Asians usually outnumber the Asians.

Not so with Manhattan's, at least for now.

Look at the rest of Manhattan and tell me what is so special about it now that its been thoroughly whitewashed.

Tall buildings with drug stores and bank branches as the retail. Which cities' downtown don't have that?

In fact, plenty of other cities from Chicago to Miami, from Seattle to Philadelphia, from Toronto to Los Angeles are getting better architecture.

It seems like everyone from Pittsburgh to Kansas City to Atlanta to Portland are getting revitalized by masses flocking to the cities again.

Other cities are building taller. Other cities are getting hipper and artsy.

You'd only have to follow the developments and city photos threads of SSP to see that.

Soon if not already, New York won't be that much different than the other cities except it'll just be larger and more expensive. Hardly enough reason to impress other people.

One day soon, New Yorkers will regret they are heading in the direction that this city is clearly heading towards.

All excellent and true points. I can see why tourists would flock there as well, they are in the search for everything you said and the word Chinatown is synonymous. That said as a New Yorker I avoid it at all costs. It's crowded and has a bad lingering stench and what's worse is that its made more crowded by long island and new jersey tourists looking for fake watches and hand-bags. What does Chinatown have to offer, for me its, good Chinese food and health food, but the great thing about NYC is that I've been able to find both at the same level in much nicer environments. So I avoid the headache that is Chinatown at all costs. Especially since everything you mentioned about the urban experience is still to be had in the Lower East Side, Chelsea, and the Villages, my favorite parts of the City. Although as you've already acknowledged the Lower East Side and Chelsea are at great risk of losing their character.

[krulltime]

Thanks for your comments guys. Glad you like the photos!

Anyway, I love Chinatown. It is not just for tourists, but for a local person like me. :) I like to go there sometimes and walk among all the people and all those stores. People really buy alot there I guess. I mean stores all over the place. Even in alleys. Anyway, what seems like a very tourist trap to me is Little Italy.

[pianoman11686]

Incredible? Not at all.

I should have specified. It's incredible that people on this site can have such a narrow view of what makes for "vibrant" streetlife, then look at Chinatown, and say it's great. How is Chinatown any different than Midtown? It's packed with tourists looking to shop, eat, and see the sights, and regular day-laborers who commute back and forth from their businesses. The kicker is that it's even dirtier than Midtown. Yet, despite all of that, it remains an interesting place.

[MidtownGuy]

How is Chinatown any different than Midtown?

I think you have actually gone nuts now. How do you even come up with this
schlock?

It's incredible that people on this site can have such a narrow view of what makes for "vibrant" streetlife
Yeah, unlike you, who thinks the excitement of a row of banks is up for debate. Sometimes you just gotta use some common sense when you approach these issues. It isn't rocket science.

[Luca]

Chinatown sure has alot of people, but so do most places in the City. The Fordham section in the Bronx and the Fulton Mall have just as many people and are among my favorite places in the City, among the reasons is that the I Heart NY t-shirt tourists are almost never to be found.

I'm sure that toursits, at lkeast the more adventurous ones, will soon be visting the outer boroughs main drags more, to get a 'real New York' feel. This is the direction for tourism globally: away from your grandparents' postcards adn towards the "authentic" (whatever that is). Just look at Brooklyn. Sections on that borough, especially oens with soem detail or even recommended walks, only started appearing in most NYC travel guides less than 10 yrs ago.

[pianoman11686]

I think you have actually gone nuts now. How do you even come up with this
schlock?

Maybe if you'd taken the time to read between the lines before frantically trying to respond again...

Yeah, unlike you, who thinks the excitement of a row of banks is up for debate. Sometimes you just gotta use some common sense when you approach these issues. It isn't rocket science.

^Taken out of context.

As a matter of fact, let's look at those pictures again. I counted 5 banks, all of which were on Canal. We both seem to agree that Chinatown's streetlife is interesting, and that's what draws people there. So, here's two questions:

1) Are the areas around the banks noticeably deader in streetlife?

2) Is it really that hard to draw a comparison between this area, and an average street in Midtown? They share a lot of things in common: banks, tourists and tourist-oriented retail, lots of workers, restaurants, subways, etc. What makes streetlife in Midtown so much less interesting? Is it that more people there speak English?

[NYlover]

I Love Chinatown! Hopefully it never changes. :rolleyes: