By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — Chinatown remains one of the last frontiers for gentrification in Manhattan, leaving an immigrant community in fear that it could be soon pushed out.
That, and other theories about the rapid pace of development in the neighborhood, will be the focus of a forum at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop Tuesday night.
"The city wants this area to become a desirable tourist attraction, and it's not really worrying about the people,” said one the event’s speakers, Peter Kwong, a Chinatown historian, author, and professor of Asian American Studies and Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter College.
With the local economy still reeling from the collapse of the garment industry in the late 1990s, and a population of non-English-speaking, low-income workers at its core, the community has difficulty defending itself from outside forces.
Kwong, who lived and worked as an activist in the neighborhood for 25 years and also penned three books about its history, explained that Manhattan’s Chinatown — which has thrived for a century — remains one of the only in North America that still supports a large immigrant population that lives, works and shops within the community.
But that status is changing, Kwong explained, as major neighborhood thoroughfares that used to house numerous factories have given way to high-rise development.
“It’s not the general-public city that New York used to be,” Kwong said, placing the blame on an administration intent on creating a city only for the wealthy.
“For some people, [gentrification] is a passé idea to talk about, but I think it's still worthy to reflect,” Kwong said.
The event, which is free and open to the public, takes place Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, 110-112 W. 27th St., sixth floor.
