Manhattan’s Lower East Side is home to Chinatown, a rich cultural enclave steeped in Chinese-American history.   Canal Street, Pell Street, Mott Street, and Mulberry Street are commonly known areas in this urban niche.  The signs for some of these streets are written in both Chinese and English, thus testifying to the dominant presence of Chinese culture in the area.  This downtown enclave is home to landmarks such as Confucius Plaza, the Museum of Chinese in America, the Church of the Transfiguration, Columbus Park, and the Bloody Angle.  In the past, the latter two have been sensationalized to focus the public’s attention to Chinatown in the press.  More than half of Chinatown’s population, approximately 59%, is foreign born.  Among this large number of immigrants, who bring to New York their rich culture along with their hopes and dreams, about 57% of residents have Limited English Proficiency.  In the year after 9/11, the Chinatown garment industry lost about $490 million.  The median household income for Chinatown residents ranges from $27,227.00 +/- $7,802.00.  As a standard for comparison, the middle class income statewide is between $50,282.00 to $63,315.00.  Further, the median monthly rent for residents is $854.00 +/- $114.00, whereas the statewide middle rental range is approximately $812.00 to $1,013.00.  According to the 2010 Census, the population of Manhattan Chinatown dropped about 8.7% in the past ten years.  This population decrease might be due to the pattern of outmigration among the Chinese from traditional Chinatowns to suburban areas.  This influx of people in and out of Chinatown is another characteristic that draws attention to its dynamic nature.  The term ethnic enclave can be thus applied to Chinatown, drawing attention to the fact that it is a concentrated center of rich Chinese culture and Chinese-American history.

http://www.richblockspoorblocks.com/
http://www.aafny.org/cic/briefs/Chinatownbrief.pdf
http://fi2w.org/2011/05/04/with-a-shrinking-immigrant-population-manhattans-chinatown-ponders-future/

For lots of photos (organized by street) and links to newspaper articles specifically about Manhattan Chinatown: http://www.nychinatown.org/manhattan.html