As any immigrant group would, when more and more Chinese immigrants started to come to Bensonhurst, they wanted to build a community. They wanted to be able to call a place their home and feel like they are truly home. They wanted a sense of familiarity and when you cannot find it, you make it.
As the Chinese population started to grow in Bensonhurst, Chinese immigrants started to make their own businesses that resembled that of their homelands. They made bakeries, supermarkets, herb shops, restaurants, etc. They made it a place where they can go out and buy ingredients that they can actually put into their recipes. They made it a place where they can buy a typical Chinese breakfast. They started to make Bensonhurst their home.
Crimes against Chinese store owners
Due to the Chinese still being relatively new to Bensonhurst, they still face a lot of prejudice. Store owners, specifically, have to deal with crimes fueled by hate or ignorance since they are in the public eye. Teenagers and delinquents would taunt and even attack store owners. They block entryways, smoke inside stores, steal, and vandalize stores, which drives away customers. After calling the police numerous times, many Chinese store owners have given up hope. It is much easier to deal with teenagers than cops, who do not speak their language or understand them.
Chen Hua Yin, owner of a second-floor nail salon, has given up on calling the police because, he says, they never show up. He has been reduced to putting a lock on his door, which tends to drive away customers. On April 19, 2015, the situation turned violent when one of the teenagers punched Cheng Hua Yin in the face, leaving a bruised eye. Cheng Hua Yin is not the only Chinese store owner who has run into these problems. Many other Chinese-American store owners on Bay Parkway have been terrorized by teenagers; however, they believe that these teenagers are just young and misguided rather than “bad kids.”
