As Dane Fearon and I began to walk down Bowne Street, one of the oldest roads in Flushing, we saw a small fenced courtyard filled with old shirts, old pants, old socks, old books and other miscellaneous items. As we wandered in, we saw a Korean woman sitting on a chair with a money box in front of her. Apparently, the items displayed were for sale, and whoever bought them had to put their payment inside the money box. Dane started to talk to the Korean lady, but as the lady couldn’t speak English, she motioned to another lady within the courtyard who knew English. This other lady initially greeted us sternly, with a sharp “How can I help you?” Once we asked her about what was going on, she relaxed her attitude, and said warmly, “We are part of the Jesus Love House Mission. We are hosting a fundraiser to help homeless people living in the buildings close by”. She pointed at the one behind her as an example. They were part of a Presbyterian Church, and this was one of their acts of service. She asked us whether we wanted to buy anything, and when we said no but donated money in the money-box anyway, she bid us farewell saying “You Got Good Love”.
During the 1970s, the economic downturn in the US had an adverse effect on Flushing. Almost 40% of the early immigrants, mostly Irish communities, left to look for better neighborhoods (“NYC2010”). This created a population gap in Flushing, which people from Korea rushed to fill during the 1980s. The first Koreans came in large numbers in search of low rent, un-crowded streets and a close access to Manhattan via subway. Flushing was their natural choice for settlement because it contained all three criteria within one neighborhood. Therefore, the Korean population rose from almost nothing to around 64,000 in a city of approximately 200,000 people – a solid 32-36% percent of the total (Junaid et. al.). The majority of the Korean immigrants are not blue-collared workers as some would think, but are middle-class with a decent education. Yet, their lack of ability to speak English seriously hampered their economic mobility in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Many of them became self-employed, started a whole range of Korean businesses along Union Street, a road in between Bowne and Main Streets. They formed credit unions (‘Gyeh’), a group of business owners who pooled their money into a central community chest, which they could withdraw from if in need of money. This particular practice stems from the East Asian value of filial piety, a sense of giving to the community. For more examples of Korean businesses, I personally remember a Lee’s Tae Kwon Do martial arts school on Union Street, where many children in the neighborhood used to congregate for lessons 10 years ago. It was an example of a small business, teaching local kids Korean martial arts for a fee.
Most of the Koreans who immigrated to Flushing were Christian, which caused the proliferation of Korean Protestant churches during the ‘80s and ‘90s. These churches, to this day, are powerful centers for people to congregate (also a cause of many traffic jams). These churches also provide a variety of services like fundraisers (such as the fundraiser we bumped into), food distributions or English classes for people who don’t speak the language very well. The Korean-town neighborhood of Flushing is located mainly in Union Street and Bowne Street, east of the famous Flushing Main Street.
The Korean population of Flushing is notable in the area just mentioned. Instead, if you go down Kissena Blvd, we get a number of residential buildings with a vibrant South Asian community. Its biggest subgroup is from India, which constitutes around 62% of the total South Asian community (Salvo et. al.). The next biggest subgroup is from Pakistan, constituting 25% of the South Asian group, while Bangladeshis constitute 12% of the group. This group is not as vibrant economically as the Koreans in terms of small businesses, but Indian businesses like Patel Brothers, Chandigarh Fashion, and Dosa Hutt do exist. Patel Brothers is the only place in Flushing to get South Asian food items, South Asian spices, and other commodities. Dosa Hutt serves small scale South Indian food while Chandigarh Fashion sells formal Indian clothing. These two businesses form the commercial spine of this community. Yet, during the early 2000s, based on personal experience, many more Indian shops and restaurants would be open to the public in the area near Patel Brothers, but they all slowly moved away and got replaced.
However, the Indian religious community is very vibrant, thanks to the Hindu Temple in Bowne Street and Holly Ave – a great congregating institution for Hindus not only in Flushing but around New York City (Bloom et. al.). Several other Hindu temples have also sprung up nearby, which become congregation places for their devotees. With these institutions in place, immigrants have a solid way to pass on Hindu traditions to their children. In my case, I have learned Indian Classical Music through a teacher I had gotten to know through the Hindu Temple. These congregations are not limited to the religion of Hinduism. Many Sikh temples and mosques also exist in Flushing, where South Asian Sikhs and Muslims can congregate. In fact, there was a New York Times article in 1983 about a Sikh resident of Flushing who combined his old culture with the new culture he acquired (“INDIANS…” ).
Indian activities, such as the sport cricket, are often held at different parts of the neighborhood. When I was walking with Dane across Kissena Corridor Park, we saw a group of South Asians using the provided field to play cricket amongst themselves. Several times, I have seen cricket being played on the playground next to my building, where small children ran around with toy cricket bats and tennis balls (Although cricket, strictly speaking, is not an “Indian” sport, I consider it to be one in this case because Indian people are usually very, very obsessed with cricket).
It turns out the name Flushing was a mispronunciation of a town in the Netherlands called Vlissingen. The area, during the 1600s, was initially named Vlissingen, after a seaport town in mainland Netherlands, but when the English took New Amsterdam over to make it New York, they named the small town Flushing. But before then, during the time of Peter Stuyvesant, Flushing was known as the home for persecuted Quakers who couldn’t practice their religion freely due to Stuyvesant. Even at that time, Flushing was a symbol for religious freedom. Its 200+ places for worship within a 2.5 square mile area prove that to this day.
During our walk in Flushing, Dane and I managed to get one full interview with a person living in Flushing (and even used to play tennis to prove it) who wasn’t part of the three main ethnicities of Flushing today. His name was Jack Amiot, and he was raised as an Irish Catholic. He moved to Flushing at age 2 during the late 1940s. Interestingly, he was born in Cuba, where his parents were staying for an interim period before coming to America. But since he was raised Irish Catholic, I would like to think of him as a representative of the old immigrants of Flushing – the Irish and Jewish populations. He was a big tennis player and coach before he severely sprained his Achilles tendon, which put him out of action for many years. His ancestors were Jewish – they were one of the very wealthy Jewish Barons of England at the time of King Henry VII. So, was he Jewish too? It was interesting to meet such a person of mixed ancestry in Flushing, as the ethnic groups today traditionally don’t mix in a large scale. More than 2/3rds of the entire population in Flushing are foreign-born, but it is very clear which country they came from and what ethnic group they belong to. To meet a person of mixed ancestry living in Flushing was an interesting experience.
This paper cannot qualify as a neighborhood portrait of Flushing without an assessment of the largest racial group in Flushing now, the Chinese population. The Chinese population is the most recent growth trend of today, and it has brought many changes to Flushing recently. Many of these changes have been good. For example, many new malls have sprung up displaying Chinese food courts, Chinese fashion, Chinese music, etc (Roleke). Many Chinese restaurants have also opened up near the junction between Kissena Blvd and Main Street. At the same time, some changes caused controversy. Many Korean and Indian shops and restaurants were displaced and replaced by giant Chinese supermarkets. The Chinese influx has caused its own “gentrification” of sorts, which have caused problems such as overcrowding and steadily rising rent prices. Korean and Indian populations have recently been declining, at rates such as 33% and 23% respectively. This type of gentrification is not really economic in nature, since Flushing still contains a major proportion of low income residents, indicating that Flushing is not an expensive neighborhood. Yet, this still remains a problem as small Korean shops, Indian Shops, and even (interestingly) American retailers are being replaced by Chinese supermalls.
The Chinese population brings their own flavor into the ethnic mixture of Flushing. Their passion for their children’s education is reflected by their many test prep centers and tuition center that exist around Main Street and Kissena Blvd. The most notable one stands next to my building. Named “ABC-Math”, it took students from all backgrounds to coach them for the SATs, AP courses and other high school classes.
I believe that the concept of Flushing, what Flushing means to those who live there, is a microcosm of New York City in general. Within barely 2.5 square miles of space, we find three major ethnic groups and dozens more minor ethnic groups living together in relative harmony. Yes, there do exist ethnic clashes when a sudden drastic change occurs, such as the dramatic Chinese influx into Flushing, but for the most part, we all get along, and that is the magic of Flushing. What makes Flushing unique is the proliferation of different institutions for different groups built and mixed together in this small space. Flushing has been promoting tolerance and integration ever since the 1600s, when John Bowne opened up his home to allow members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) to practice their religion. In short, “We Got Good Love”.
References
“INDIANS IN FLUSHING BLEND 2 CULTURES.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Dec. 1983. Web. 07 May 2014.
Junaid, Muhammad, Sharon Richardson, Annaliisa Gifford, and Patrick Lempert. “Flushing Koreans.” The Peopling of New York. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.
Roleke, John. “Flushing Chinatown in Queens, New York: A Neighborhood Tour.” About.com Queens, NY. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.
Bloom, Thalia, Shi Giang Ng Tong, Himanshu Pandey, Choong Ye, and Jason Zheng. “Flushing.” The Peopling of New York 2011. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.
Salvo, Joseph J., Arun Peter Lobo. The “Newest” New Yorkers. New York: , 2013. Document.
NYC2010. Population Growth and Race/Hispanic Composition. New York: 2010. Document.
