Chinatown Collective Fights Back Against Gentrification

The building at 26 Mott Street has worn many hats since its inception in the 1890s. When local businessman Walter Eng opened Wing on Wo & Co., it was a general store and center of community activity in what was then the small but growing Chinatown. Today, it is the oldest continuously operating store in Manhattan’s Chinatown, and the home of a community initiative which aims to protect and grow the neighborhood where it is situated.

In 1964, third-generation owner Nancy Seid took over the store from her father and changed the business model to focus on porcelain as her main product line. Today, Seid’s granddaughter Mei Lum has not only taken over the store, but has launched an initiative called the W.O.W. project to push back against gentrification in Chinatown.

The project first took root as Lum took over the porcelain business her family had held for so long. The fifth-generation owner, she felt strongly about keeping the business alive and maintaining the traditions Seid had passed down to her. “Our goal with sourcing has always been to maintain the style and quality legacy of porcelain my gong [grandfather] and po [grandmother] had sourced in Hong Kong since the early 1970s,” says Lum.

“To do that, Nate Brown, my close friend and WOW’s director of product, and I began in 2016 to trace the patterns my grandparents bought over the years back to their original factories in Jingdezhen, China’s porcelain capital. Sometimes, at local markets or in over-piled storage units tucked into residential compounds, we could still find original pieces from these same factories, often held onto in large quantities by workers who were let go when the factories suddenly shuttered in the early 90s.” Wing on Wo and Co. sells these original pieces as well as new, custom wares they produce today.

Rising Rents

However, as Lum worked to source and sell porcelain pieces for the business, she saw the neighborhood around her changing.

“Gentrification is pushing out stalwart businesses and multigenerational families, along with recent immigrants, out of Chinatown, as rents rise,” says W.O.W. spokesperson Carolyn Lau. The median household income in Chinatown in 2019 was about 40% lower than that of the city as a whole. Median rent in the neighborhood, meanwhile, has risen steadily over the past few years, reflecting a trend of wealthier residents moving in and luxury apartment buildings such as One Manhattan Square slowly going up in the area.

“Chinatown is one of the last thriving ethnic neighborhoods in Manhattan/Munsee Lenape Land,” continues Lau. “It’s our home.”

The W.O.W. project aims to take an active role in shaping the future of Chinatown, bridging generational and cultural gaps to help maintain the culture and history of the neighborhood.

“Since its inception in 2016, The W.O.W. Project has held numerous panel discussions about the role of art and social change, an annual storefront artist-in-residency program, film screenings showcasing Asian American women filmmakers, and several Chinatown storytelling open mic nights, that have reached over 1,000 residents,” says Lau.

W.O.W. is also working on an ongoing program that connects Chinatown elders with local youth, holding community discussions for them about identity and international solidarity.

Wing on Wo and Co. has been a natural site for the project, due to its preexisting nature as a culturally important landmark for Chinatown residents and its focus on selling pieces connected to Chinese culture.

“The people who have supported us through the years are deeply interested in learning about their own family and cultural history, purchasing our porcelain pieces for their homes as objects that connect them with their past and allow them to reclaim their Asian diasporic identity,” says Lau.

The Wing on Wo and Co. store at 26 Mott Street is open from 1pm to 5pm Friday through Sunday. Those interested in donating to or learning about the W.O.W. project may visit https:// wingonwoand.co/.