This page is about an area in Queens, New York that is filled with predominately Asian immigrants. My video is a brief trailer based on my three explanations and observations about this town. My vignettes have a historical and cultural focus. Enjoy!
Queens, New York is one of the most diverse areas in the world. Walking down one block you may see signs for Mexican food; the next block, you see polish delis; and before you know, it you’re in an area that seems to be like a little Chinatown with signs everywhere. Flushing, a neighborhood in Queens, is home to the second largest Chinatown in New York City. East Asians mainly occupy this town, but it hasn’t always been that way. Believe it or not the earliest people known to live in this area were the Matinecock Indians.
The English and Dutch settled in Vlissingen, the name previously given to Flushing, in the 1600s. Vlissingen became a part of New Netherlands in 1645 due to a contract established by the Dutch West India Company. Dutch natives who were escaping Peter Stuyvesant’s Protestant prosecution settled in Flushing. Peter Stuyvesant, the governor of New Netherlands, proclaimed that any individual allowing a Quaker to hold a gathering in their house would be fined, even though Quaker’s religious teachings were broadly accepted in Flushing. The teachings of Quakers spread to new regions despite the constant charges. In the 1700s many New Yorkers converted to Quakerism. In 1703, Flushing Meeting, a meetinghouse built in 1694, decided to create a school for the children. This was the first school in Flushing. Even some former slaves attended meetings and worship services even though they still were not socially accepted.
Fast forward now to the 1800s to when The Flushing Female Association was created. This group of Flushing Quaker women formed a school for the underprivileged children of any race in 1814. However, forty-eight years later the District School Board acquired responsibility of the school and only African American students were allowed to attend. Newspapers were formed, secondary education institutions opened, trolley lines, and electric rail lines were created. In the 1900s a subway line was built connecting Manhattan to Flushing, which significantly increased the town’s population.
Asian immigrants came to Flushing in huge groups in the late 20th century. Chinese, Korean, and Japanese immigrants flooded the streets mainly caused by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. "The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 represents a significant watershed moment in Asian American history. These new arrivals, particular from Asia, have transformed the demographic, economic, and cultural characteristics of many urban areas, the larger Asian American community, and mainstream American society in general.” Before this Act, Flushing was mainly Greek and Italian. However, ever since the 1970s and 1980s that area is predominately Chinese and Korean with a few other groups from Colombia, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Guyana, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, and El Salvador. Chinese and Korean residents have almost doubled in size in the last two decades. The Asian immigrants had no other choice but to retreat to their own isolated areas since they were not able to own land, homes, receive an education, or get a many jobs. This caused the first Chinatowns where the stereotypical image of Chinese restaurants, Japanese produce stands, and Korean grocery stores began.
Flushing, Queens is most definitely a frontier zone because it was made “through people arriving and people leaving”. Throughout the formation of Flushing, there were always people interacting with a different unfamiliar group. Whether they were different because of ethnicity, race, or religious beliefs, these individuals were mixing and interacting. Another way Sassen’s work applies to Flushing is the fact that Flushing is no anarchy. This town is not controlled, organized, or perfectly clean. This town transformed from a place where the Matinecock Indians settled, to a busy and culturally infused area. Flushing, Queens is a frontier zone.
Take a walk through the streets of Flushing, Queens. What do you notice? Well one thing is for sure, the majority of the signs and posters you observe around you will be in Chinese. Even the majority population that is around you will be immigrants from East Asia. This group of East Asian immigrants is not the only ethnicity in the area. Immigrants have come from all over the world, even Latin American and Europe. However the most predominant and interesting culture in Flushing, in my opinion, is the Chinese society.
The Chinese ethnicity takes pride in who they are and what their background exemplifies. Even though these individuals are 7,136 miles away from where their culture was born or where they themselves were even born, does not prevent them from continuing traditions that are part of their beliefs. This is the reason why I chose to focus on the Chinese groups. Some foreigners that live in the United States tend to lose their traditions and beliefs and become more “Americanized” as some would say. However, there are two major Chinatowns in New York City that still show their pride and have parades and fairs.
Flushing Town Hall organizes many different events for all 30 different cultures the town contains. From events for the Dia de los Muertos (Halloween) to Jazz Clinics to parades for the Chinese New Year. Along with all the different events, Flushing is home to approximately two hundred places of worship. There are half a dozen Hindu temples, two Sikh gurdwaras, several mosques, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean Buddhist temples, a Taoist temple, over one hundred Korean churches, Latin American evangelical churches, Falun Gong practitioners, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and some of the oldest churches and temples in Queens. Chinese Christians take up a minor percentage of religious beliefs. Chinese people are mostly Buddhists or believers in folk religion.
Flushing, Queens has a higher percentage of foreign-born immigrants than any other area in Queens. In 2011, 67.7% of Flushing’s entire population was foreign-born immigrants. Asian immigrants made up 80% of the total population with Chinese immigrants taking 49% of that percentage. The majority of these Chinese immigrants, after 1965, came from Taiwan. Mainly peasants and mainlanders immigrated to the Chinatown in Manhattan; the first generation of immigrants in Flushing all had some type of educational background. There was never any type of social pyramid or ladder in the Chinese community in Flushing. Many different kinds of associations and groups were created during the growth of this Chinatown.
Even though the immigrants that came to Flushing had an educational background, it was still difficult for them to get jobs. For that reason certain individuals decided to open up stores. The main occupations back in the day and even now are restaurants, florist shops, gift stores, garment factories, and jewelry stores. Within the past ten years the Chinese have expanded and have become successful businessmen and some even own their own companies and stores. Coming to America and trying to expand into other neighborhoods, English had to be learned. If you were to walk on Main Street you would hear Chinese being spoken. The primary dialects you would come into contact with would be Mandarin, Taiwanese, and Cantonese.
Walking down Main Street feels like being in a different country because of all the Chinese signs and different smelling foods. The life in Flushing, Queens is something everyone should experience at least once because it is not just Asian/Chinese foods. There is a mixture of Asian, Chinese, American, Hispanic, and Guyanese: a very diverse area where you could have some Bubble Tea but then walk across the street to get pollo y carne and then maybe go get some McDonald’s fries while you’re at it. This area contains some of the most interesting and hard working group of people you will meet.
Asian culture contains many different and intriguing foods, clothes, art, and music. On every block of Main Street there are tons of food stores or some type of “gift shop”. The owners of these shops are all of East Asian background and most have a deeper connection with what they are doing than what the normal outsider may think. The owners, employees, and street vendors that work in Flushing, Queens on Main Street are proudly representing items of their culture and, when asked, they can tell you a lot about any East Asian item.
Many vendors and employees I came into contact with expressed how the things they were selling and showing were what paid their bills and put food on the table for them. Street vendors were lined up outside the Flushing Post Office selling cute knickknacks and accessories that really had little to nothing to do with their culture. When asked a question of why do they sell these things, one vendor responded that these items may look like nothing important, but many people purchase these random things because they were just convenient at the time. These street vendors stand outside of the Post Office with their stand for hours and hours trying to sell packages of markers, phone cases, hats, bags, and many other random items.
One mall on Main Street claims it is the “largest Asian indoor mall in New York”. That claim is on the New World’s Mall website on the front page in big letters. In this mall there are thirty-two vendors selling all different types of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Taiwanese cuisines. Entering this building is like being in a different part of the world. The vendors, without knowing it, make the experience more realistic and fun because all they attempt to do is sell you their teas, meats, dumplings, fish and so on. Who doesn’t enjoy eating?
Going into this area of Queens, I assumed that the stores and vendors must make a significant amount of profits because of the amount of people that walk through those streets every day. However, in reality that vision is not quite correct. Flushing Main Street sidewalks are overcrowded eighty-three percent of that day. There are reasons why overcrowded streets are not good besides the obvious safety issues. Overcrowded streets means that those people cannot stop and window shop or stop at the street vendors outside. This congestion on the streets causes vendors to experience some bad profit days. Even though these streets are so crowded, vendors are still out there trying to grab the people’s attention. A lot of these salespersons come up to you and try to sell something and usually do not give up very easy!
Vendors and store employees/owners in Flushing, Queens work just as hard as any other vendors and owners in any other area. The only difference is that these select groups of people show off their culture and work while representing their culture. Yes, other towns have a cultural focus and pride in their countries and backgrounds also. However the way the East Asian culture shows this pride is unlike any other because they have towns designated just to their own language and overall culture. Stores are filled with their foreign teas and Chinese tea sets. Some employees even wear traditional oriental dresses as a part of the complete foreign restaurant experience. These people are extremely dedicated people to their work because this is how they make their living. The workers, vendors, employees, and owners make the time spent on Main Street a one to remember.