Editing Chinatown, Manhattan (section)

==Demographics and culture==
[[File:New York City Chinatown Celebration 005.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|[[Street fair]]s are common in Chinatown]]
In 2000, most of Chinatown's residents came from Asia. That year, the number of residents was 84,840, and 66% of them were Asian.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aafny.org/cic/briefs/chinatownbrief.pdf|title=Major Chinatown Census Statistics at a Glance|access-date=February 2, 2016|archive-date=April 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417230047/http://www.aafny.org/cic/briefs/chinatownbrief.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Demographics===
The census tabulation area for Chinatown is bounded to the north by [[Houston Street]]; to the east by  [[Avenue B (Manhattan)|Avenue B]], Norfolk Street, [[Essex Street]] and [[Allen Street|Pike Street]]; to the south by Frankfort Street; and to the west by [[Centre Street (Manhattan)|Centre Street]] and [[Bowery]]. Based on data from the [[2010 United States Census]], the population of Chinatown was 47,844, a change of −4,531 (−9.5%) from the 52,375 counted in [[2000 United States Census|2000]]. Covering an area of {{convert|332.27|acres}}, the neighborhood had a population density of {{convert|144|PD/acre|PD/sqmi PD/sqkm}}.<ref name="PLP5">[http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/data-maps/nyc-population/census2010/t_pl_p5_nta.pdf Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610175331/http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/data-maps/nyc-population/census2010/t_pl_p5_nta.pdf |date=June 10, 2016 }}, Population Division – [[New York City]] Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.</ref> The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 16.3% (7,817) [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 4.8% (2,285) [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.1% (38) [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 63.9% (30,559) [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0% (11) [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.2% (75) from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.3% (639) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 13.4% (6,420) of the population.<ref name="PLP3A">[http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/data-maps/nyc-population/census2010/t_pl_p3a_nta.pdf Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610170733/http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/data-maps/nyc-population/census2010/t_pl_p3a_nta.pdf |date=June 10, 2016 }}, Population Division – [[New York City]] Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.</ref>

The racial composition of Chinatown changed substantially from 2000 to 2010, with the most significant changes being the increase in the White population by 42% (2,321), the decrease in the Asian population by 15% (5,461), and the decrease in the Hispanic / Latino population by 15% (1,121). The Black population decreased by 3% (62) and remained a small minority, while the very small population of all other races decreased by 21% (208).<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.urbanresearchmaps.org/plurality/files/RaceEthnic%20Change%20by%20Neighborhood%205-23-11.xls | title = Race / Ethnic Change by Neighborhood | publisher = Center for Urban Research, The Graduate Center, CUNY | date = May 23, 2011 | access-date = March 22, 2020 | format = Excel file | archive-date = April 17, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200417045228/http://www.urbanresearchmaps.org/plurality/files/RaceEthnic%20Change%20by%20Neighborhood%205-23-11.xls | url-status = live }}</ref>

Chinatown lies in [[Manhattan Community Board 3|Manhattan Community District 3]], which encompasses Chinatown, the [[East Village, Manhattan|East Village]], and the [[Lower East Side]]. Community District 3 had 171,103 residents as of [[New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene|NYC Health]]'s 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 82.2 years.<ref name="CHP2018">{{Cite web |url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/data/2018chp-mn3.pdf |title=Lower East Side and Chinatown (Including Chinatown, East Village and Lower East Side) |date=2018 |website=nyc.gov |publisher=NYC Health |access-date=March 2, 2019 |archive-date=October 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022182355/https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/data/2018chp-mn3.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Rp|2, 20}} This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.<ref name=":21">{{Cite web |url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/tcny/community-health-assessment-plan.pdf |title=2016–2018 Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan: Take Care New York 2020 |date=2016 |website=[[government of New York City|nyc.gov]] |publisher=[[New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene]] |access-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/tcny/community-health-assessment-plan.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Rp|53 (PDF p. 84)}} Most residents are adults: a plurality (35%) are between the ages of 25 and 44, while 25% are between 45 and 64, and 16% are 65 or older. The ratio of youth and college-aged residents was lower, at 13% and 11%, respectively.<ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|2}}

As of 2017, the median [[household income]] in Community District 3 was $39,584.<ref name="CB3PUMA">{{cite web|url=https://censusreporter.org/profiles/79500US3603809-nyc-manhattan-community-district-3-chinatown-lower-east-side-puma-ny/|title=NYC-Manhattan Community District 3—Chinatown & Lower East Side PUMA, NY|access-date=July 17, 2018|archive-date=January 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118140610/https://censusreporter.org/profiles/79500US3603809-nyc-manhattan-community-district-3-chinatown-lower-east-side-puma-ny/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2018, an estimated 18% of Community District 3 residents lived in poverty, compared to 14% in all of Manhattan and 20% in all of New York City. One in twelve residents (8%) were unemployed, compared to 7% in Manhattan and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 48% in Community District 3, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 45% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, {{as of|2018|lc=y}}, Community District 3 is considered to be [[gentrification|gentrifying]]: according to the Community Health Profile, the district was low-income in 1990 and has seen above-median rent growth up to 2010.<ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|7}}

The [[New York City Department of City Planning]] released updated 2020 census data on the Asian population of New York City. Manhattan's Chinatown has only 27,200 Asian residents, compared to the neighborhoods of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn (46,000); Sunset Park, Brooklyn (31,400); Flushing, Queens (54,200); and Elmhurst, Queens (55,800).<ref name="auto6">{{Cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/planning-level/nyc-population/census2020/dcp_2020-census-briefing-booklet-1.pdf|title=Key Population & Housing Characteristics; 2020 Census Results for New York City|publisher=[[New York City Department of City Planning]]|date=August 2021|access-date=November 7, 2021|pages=21, 25, 29, 33|archive-date=September 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925151633/https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/planning-level/nyc-population/census2020/dcp_2020-census-briefing-booklet-1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=auto4>{{cite web | title=Map: Race and ethnicity across the US | website=CNN | date=August 14, 2021 | url=https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/us/census-race-ethnicity-map/ | access-date=November 7, 2021 | archive-date=October 4, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004102038/https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/us/census-race-ethnicity-map/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto7">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/21/us/asians-census-us.html|title=US-Asians census|website=New York Times|date=August 21, 2021|access-date=October 14, 2021|archive-date=October 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017101430/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/21/us/asians-census-us.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>https://www.aafederation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2019ch.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313020523/https://www.aafederation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2019ch.pdf |date=March 13, 2022 }} {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref><ref>https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/immigrants/downloads/pdf/Fact-Sheet-NYCs-API-Immigrant-Population.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302134439/https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/immigrants/downloads/pdf/Fact-Sheet-NYCs-API-Immigrant-Population.pdf |date=March 2, 2022 }} {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>

===Chinese cultural standards===
Despite the more recently emerged large Fuzhou population, many of the Chinese businesses in Chinatown are still Cantonese owned. The Cantonese dominated western section of Chinatown also continues to be the main busy Chinese business district. As a result, it has influenced many Fuzhounese to learn Cantonese for businesses, especially large businesses like the Dim Sum restaurants on what is known as [[Little Fuzhou]] on [[East Broadway (Manhattan)|East Broadway]].<ref name="RosenbergDunford2011" /><ref name="Inc.2007">{{cite book |author=Let's Go Inc. |title=Let's Go USA 24th Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SMGOgKLHbz8C&pg=PA99 |access-date=July 25, 2012 |date=November 27, 2007 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-312-37445-7 |pages=99– |archive-date=March 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314172505/https://books.google.com/books?id=SMGOgKLHbz8C&pg=PA99#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://nychinatown.org/ebway.html |title=A journey through China town |publisher=Nychinatown.org |access-date=November 15, 2009 |archive-date=March 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314172606/http://nychinatown.org/ebway.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Fuzhounese, the subgroup of non-Cantonese-speaking Chinese with the most interactions with Cantonese, also constitute the majority of non-native Cantonese-speaking Chinese. Many of the Fuzhou immigrants in the 1980s and early 1990s learned to speak Cantonese to maintain jobs and communicate with the Cantonese-speaking population in addition to the fact many of the earlier Fuzhou immigrants had lived in [[Hong Kong]] adapting into the [[Culture of Hong Kong|Hong Kong culture]] and speaking [[Cantonese]], which gave them better advantages to integrating into the Chinatown community as it was still very dominantly Cantonese speaking.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3jUTCgAAQBAJ&dq=fuzhou+immigrants+in+hong+kong&pg=PA151|title=God in Chinatown: Religion and Survival in New York's Evolving Immigrant Community|isbn=9780814731543|last1=Guest|first1=Kenneth J.|date=August 2003|publisher=NYU Press|access-date=January 30, 2022|archive-date=March 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314172606/https://books.google.com/books?id=3jUTCgAAQBAJ&dq=fuzhou+immigrants+in+hong+kong&pg=PA151#v=onepage&q=fuzhou%20immigrants%20in%20hong%20kong&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> However, since the 2000s, newer Chinese immigrants have largely spoken [[Mandarin Chinese]], the national language of China.<ref name="Keefe2009" />{{rp|38}}<ref name="Chinesechange" />

A significant difference between the two separate [[Chinese province|Chinese provincial]] communities in Manhattan's Chinatown is that the Cantonese part of Chinatown not only serves Chinese customers but is also a tourist attraction. However, the Fuzhou part of Chinatown caters less to tourists.<ref name="Lin2011">{{cite book |author=Jan Lin |title=The Power of Urban Ethnic Places: Cultural Heritage and Community Life |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7a2_J2Z8s-YC&pg=PA226 |access-date=July 25, 2012 |year=2011 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-415-87982-8 |pages=226–}}</ref><ref name="Wang2001">{{cite book |author=Xinyang Wang |title=Surviving the City: The Chinese Immigrant Experience in New York City, 1890–1970 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PzynALMFtEEC&pg=PA79 |access-date=July 25, 2012 |year=2001 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-0891-0 |pages=79–}}</ref> [[Bowery]], [[Chrystie Street]], [[Catherine Street]], and [[Chatham Square]] encompass the approximate border zone between the Fuzhou and Cantonese communities in Manhattan's Chinatown.<ref name="Chin1999" />{{rp|112}}

Unlike most other urban Chinatowns, Manhattan's Chinatown is both a residential area as well as commercial area. Many population estimates are in the range of 90,000 to 100,000 residents.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nyhabitat.com/blog/category/new-york/new-york-travel-guide/new-york-neighborhoods/lower-east-side/|title=New York Habitat Blog : Lower East Side|website=www.nyhabitat.com|access-date=April 11, 2019|archive-date=March 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326112705/https://www.nyhabitat.com/blog/category/new-york/new-york-travel-guide/new-york-neighborhoods/lower-east-side/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/24/magazine/there-s-more-to-chinatown.html?pagewanted=all%3Fpagewanted%3Dall |title=There's More To Chinatown |work=The New York Times |first=D. Keith |last=Mano |date=April 24, 1988 |access-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306173221/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/24/magazine/there-s-more-to-chinatown.html?pagewanted=all%3Fpagewanted%3Dall |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/01/business/mining-chinatown-s-mountain-of-gold.html |title=Mining Chinatown's Mountain of Gold |work=The New York Times |first=N. R. |last=Kleinfield |date=June 1, 1986 |access-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214171142/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/01/business/mining-chinatown-s-mountain-of-gold.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.corcoran.com/news/index.aspx?page=Article&pub_id=6704|title=The Allure of Authentic New York|access-date=June 21, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708193137/http://www.corcoran.com/news/index.aspx?page=Article&pub_id=6704|archive-date=July 8, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> One analysis of census data in 2011 showed that Chinatown and heavily Chinese tracts on the Lower East Side had 47,844 residents in the 2010 census, a decrease of nearly 9% since 2000.<ref name="Berger" />

===Gentrification and decline in Chinese population===
[[File:New York lion dance lion.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|A [[lion dance|Chinese lion]] during [[Chinese New Year]] festivities on Mott St. near [[Worth Street (Manhattan)|Worth St]].]]
By 2007, luxury [[condominium]]s began to spread from [[SoHo, Manhattan|SoHo]] into Chinatown. Previously, Chinatown was noted for its crowded tenements and primarily Chinese residents. While some projects have targeted the Chinese community, the development of luxury housing has increased Chinatown's economic and cultural diversity.<ref>Toy, Vivian S. "[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/realestate/17cov.html?pagewanted=print Luxury Condos Arrive in Chinatown] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811031814/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/realestate/17cov.html?pagewanted=print |date=August 11, 2018 }}." ''The New York Times''. September 17, 2006. Retrieved on April 2, 2010.</ref>  A 2021 N.Y.U Furman poll found that the racial and ethnic composition of Asian identifying individuals within the community dropped from 34.8% in 2000 to 28.1% in 2021, a 6.7% decrease.<ref name="furmancenter.org"/>

Since the early 2000s, there has been a continuously increasing number of buildings in Chinatown, neighboring [[Two Bridges, Manhattan|Two Bridges]], and the [[Lower East Side]], taken over by new landlords and real estate developers, who then charged higher rents and/or demolished the buildings to build newer structures.<ref name="auto" /> Often, whenever this happens, many [[Little Fuzhou|Fuzhounese tenants]] are more likely to be evicted, especially in the [[Little Fuzhou|eastern portion of Chinatown]], where illegal subdivision, overcrowding, lack of leases, and lack of immigrant paperwork are common. In addition, since the 2000s, there have been city officials inspecting apartment buildings and cracking down on illegal units. With tenants that have rent-stabilized leases, legal residency documents, no apartment subdivisions, and a lesser probability of subletting over capacity—most of whom are long-time Cantonese residents—it is usually harder for the newer landlords to be able to force these tenants out, especially including the western portion of Chinatown, which is still mainly Cantonese populated. However, newer landlords still continuously try find other loopholes to force them out.<ref>*{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25920980 |title=The slow decline of American Chinatowns |newspaper=BBC News |date=February 4, 2014 |last1=Lewis |first1=Aidan |access-date=June 21, 2018 |archive-date=March 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327092457/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25920980 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |url=http://voicesofny.org/2014/11/employment-agencies-chinatown-shrinking/ |title=Employment Agencies Leave Manhattan's Chinatown |access-date=January 8, 2016 |archive-date=January 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126085352/http://voicesofny.org/2014/11/employment-agencies-chinatown-shrinking/ |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/how-can-new-york-stop-the-citys-worst-landlords-6668011 |title=How Can New York Stop the City's Worst Landlords? |author=Anna Merlan |work=Village Voice |date=October 21, 2014 |access-date=January 8, 2016 |archive-date=January 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123155334/http://www.villagevoice.com/news/how-can-new-york-stop-the-citys-worst-landlords-6668011 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |url=http://pix11.com/2014/08/20/gov-cuomo-subpoenas-manhattan-landlord-trying-to-evict-rent-regulated-tenants/ |title=Gov. Cuomo subpoenas landlord trying to evict rent-regulated tenants – New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV |work=New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV |date=August 21, 2014 |access-date=January 8, 2016 |archive-date=January 29, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129084234/http://pix11.com/2014/08/20/gov-cuomo-subpoenas-manhattan-landlord-trying-to-evict-rent-regulated-tenants/ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/rising-real-estate-prices-remake-new-yorks-chinatown/1820606.html |title=Rising Real Estate Prices Remake New York's Chinatown |work=VOA |access-date=January 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129083630/http://www.voanews.com/content/rising-real-estate-prices-remake-new-yorks-chinatown/1820606.html |archive-date=January 29, 2016 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |url=http://metcouncilonhousing.org/news_and_issues/tenant_newspaper/2012/october/displacement_crisis_in_chinatown |title=Displacement Crisis in Chinatown |date=March 18, 2020 |access-date=January 9, 2016 |archive-date=January 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126043830/http://metcouncilonhousing.org/news_and_issues/tenant_newspaper/2012/october/displacement_crisis_in_chinatown |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/landlord-wastes-no-time-kick-residents-curb-chinatown-article-1.148172 |title=Landlord tries to kick residents to curb |author=ERIN DURKIN |date=January 3, 2011 |work=NY Daily News |access-date=January 9, 2016 |archive-date=February 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222152946/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/landlord-wastes-no-time-kick-residents-curb-chinatown-article-1.148172 |url-status=live }}</ref>

By 2009, many newer Chinese immigrants settled along East Broadway instead of the historic core west of [[Bowery]]. In addition [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] began to eclipse [[Canton dialect|Cantonese]] as the predominant Chinese dialect in New York's Chinatown during the period. ''[[The New York Times]]'' says that the Flushing Chinatown now rivals Manhattan's Chinatown in terms of being a cultural center for Chinese-speaking New Yorkers' politics and trade.<ref name="Chinesechange"/>

====Current status as Chinese shopping business district====
Despite the area's gentrification, it is still a popular Chinese commercial shopping district, frequented by residents of the [[New York metropolitan area]] as well as tourists. In addition, high-income professionals are moving into the area and patronizing Chinese businesses.<ref name="macaulay.cuny.edu"/> However, commercial activity is not concentrated evenly through Chinatown. The western half of Chinatown (the original Cantonese Chinatown), known as [[Mott Street|Little Hong Kong/Guangdong]], is still relatively active. However, the eastern/southern part of Chinatown, known as [[Little Fuzhou]], has become primarily residential, and thus, the most primarily affected by the decline in business. Businesses in Little Fuzhou may be affected by the spread of gentrification from the nearby [[Lower East Side]] and [[East Village, Manhattan|East Village]].<ref name="macaulay.cuny.edu">{{Cite web | url=https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/genyc/2018/05/10/a-tale-of-two-chinatowns/ | title=A Tale of Two Chinatowns – Gentrification in NYC &#124; Rosenberg 2018 | access-date=April 11, 2019 | archive-date=January 19, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119193235/https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/genyc/2018/05/10/a-tale-of-two-chinatowns/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://voicesofny.org/2018/07/the-decline-of-east-broadway/ | title=– the Decline of East Broadway? | access-date=August 13, 2019 | archive-date=May 27, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527134505/https://voicesofny.org/2018/07/the-decline-of-east-broadway/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2016, the oldest continuously run business in Manhattan's Chinatown was up for sale: [[Wing on Wo and Co]], established in 1890. The building was worth around $10 million, including six stories and a store front, one of the only buildings left of its kind in the area. [[Mei Lum]], a grandchild of the original owner, stepped in before the sale and took over the business to preserve its history and position within the neighborhood, to "regenerate, encourage and protect" Chinatown's culture.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vadukul |first=Alex |date=October 7, 2016 |title=On Brink of Sale, Family Shop in Chinatown Stays in Family |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/nyregion/family-shop-in-chinatown-stays-in-family-wing-on-wo-co.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |website=The New York Times |language=en-US |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112022911/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/nyregion/family-shop-in-chinatown-stays-in-family-wing-on-wo-co.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Lum started the "W.O.W. Project", which hopes to "preserve Chinatown's creative scene through art and activism".<ref>{{Cite web|date=July 20, 2018|title=W.O.W. Project Shares Stories of Resilience in Chinatown Open Mic Night|url=https://bedfordandbowery.com/2018/07/w-o-w-project-shares-stories-of-resilience-in-chinatown-open-mic-night/|access-date=December 2, 2020|website=Bedford + Bowery|language=en-US|archive-date=October 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022233514/https://bedfordandbowery.com/2018/07/w-o-w-project-shares-stories-of-resilience-in-chinatown-open-mic-night/|url-status=live}}</ref> Events such as Open Mic nights and exhibitions would start conversations about this neighborhood's past and the people that have lived there.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Vadukul|first=Alex|date=October 7, 2016|title=On Brink of Sale, Family Shop in Chinatown Stays in Family|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/nyregion/family-shop-in-chinatown-stays-in-family-wing-on-wo-co.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112022911/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/nyregion/family-shop-in-chinatown-stays-in-family-wing-on-wo-co.html|url-status=live}}</ref> For example, in February 2020, the W.O.W. Project exhibited ethnographic research and oral history interviews that highlighted stories of migration, displacement, and everyday resilience in Chinatowns all over the world.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Public Programs|url=https://www.wingonwoand.co/programs|access-date=December 4, 2020|website=Wing on Wo & Co.|language=en-US|archive-date=October 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013015428/https://www.wingonwoand.co/programs|url-status=dead}}</ref> In response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in New York City]], the W.O.W. Project started a project called Love Letters to Chinatown.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Love Letters to Chinatown|url=https://www.wingonwoand.co/love-letters-to-chinatown|access-date=December 4, 2020|website=Wing on Wo & Co.|language=en-US|archive-date=October 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021165923/https://www.wingonwoand.co/love-letters-to-chinatown|url-status=dead}}</ref>