While it may be hard to believe, tenements in the Lower East Side – home to immigrants from a variety of nations for over 200 years – still exist today. As reported by CNN’s Poppy Harlow in the above video, immigration from China to America continues to increase, and often, the first stop for Chinese immigrants is New York City’s Chinatown. There, in search of labor and cheap housing, many reside in 54 square-foot cubicles, such as the residents of 81 Bowery, and pay anywhere from $100 to $250 for rent per month.
Although such housing is legal – called ‘Single Room Occupancy’ – the tenants live under shocking conditions more comparable to those who lived in 97 Orchard Street than one may think. Residents share hall bathrooms, used not only for the facilities and washing oneself, but also for preparing food, washing dishes, laundry and other cleaning needs. Moreover, most residents work low-wage restaurant and construction jobs, and to supplement their income, resort to illegally renting out bunk space in their already cramped rooms.
Suffice it to say, the tenements of Chinatown are not ideal housing choices, as they pose a number of physical and emotional health hazards. But for many Chinese immigrants, no other options can be perceived. For those who arrive illegally, they lack ‘legal status to get a residency anywhere else,’ as reported by CNN’s translator. Furthermore, photographer Annie Ling – who has chronicled the lives of the tenants of 81 Bowery since 2011- reveals immigrants ‘struggle to operate outside of Chinatown because of language and cultural barriers,’ and simply do not have the time or money to search for housing with rent any cheaper, or a location any better, in terms of commute to and from work. Many of the residents interviewed by both CNN and Ling conveyed a feeling of stagnation, but strive to make the most out of their situations by depending on one another for company and support, functioning like a family. As Ling states, ‘ Many have families in China they have not seen for years, and 81 Bowery, for the residents, is where they feel a sense of community.’
Though Ling’s statement paints a hopeful picture for the residents of 81 Bowery, the difficult fact is that many individuals currently reside under similar, unsafe housing conditions throughout Lower Manhattan – and continue to remain invisible to the greater public. When asked if the ‘average American sitting at home in Iowa’ knew of the existence of such modern tenements, Executive Director for Chinatown Partnership, Wellington Chen, replied that most New Yorkers, themselves, are not aware. In drawing a connection to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, we pose the question: does the museum historicize poverty in the Lower East Side? Or more specifically, is it in the museum’s place to discuss poverty? Hidden behind the wealth of Wall Street, if nothing else, the tenements of Chinatown and their shocking conditions highlight the need for additional discourse on poverty, immigration, and the growing economic gap between individuals who are – very literally – neighbors.
Sources:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/01/shocking-54-square-foot-tenement-apartments-housing-chinatown-immigrants-in-nyc/
http://opencitymag.com/81-bowery-tenement/
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