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A bail bond agency sits on Baxter St. in Manhattan Chinatown , cat-a-corner to the NYC Criminal Court.

Crime

 

Overview

 

New York City’s Downtown Chinatown, once renowned for Tongs, laundrymen, prostitution, and opium, has gradually transitioned into a modern day cultural center in the heart of the US's largest metropolis. The story of this neighborhood’s creation, development, and recent gentrification has been tightly interwoven with the evolution of Manhattan’s underworld. The area has produced some of New York City’s most famous criminals, gangs, and centers for sin; on this page we’ll cover the history of crime in Chinatown along with the area’s contemporary maturation into a safe area for tourists and residents alike.

Chinatown's Historical Association with Crime

 

Chinatown developed into a neighborhood surrounding a cigar shop owned by Ah Ken, generally accepted as the first Chinese American to settle in New York City in 1858 (Hemp, 1975). As the community developed into the 1880’s, New York’s newspaper writers “increasingly emphasized the association of Chinese with filth and the practices of opium smoking, gambling, and racial intermingling – increasingly taking on a moralistic tone, showing readers the inside of a criminal and dangerous culture,” (Tchen, 1999). Eventually, Chinatown’s close association with these scandalous activities would drive bourgeois support for local and national anti-Chinese legislation.

 

Even the New York Times, the most pro-Chinese of Victorian era newspapers, began fixating on Chinatown as a zone which offered little to New York City apart from violence and establishments of sin towards the end of the 1870’s. The passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 only provoked a “remarkably mild,” response from the Times, a newspaper which had forcefully campaigned for racial equality during and since the Civil War.

 

Doyers Street gained renown quickly for being a center of violence in the early 1900’s. The street, which is shorter than a modern football field in length and features a sharp bend, became known as “the notorious ‘Bloody Angle’ … where many shootings and murders [took place],” (Leong, 1937). American journalists in the 1930’s also “could not be given enough credit for making the [Chinese gangs] famous,” and would regularly implicate gang involvement whenever they caught wind of violence involving Chinese people (Leong, 1937). Echoes of similar journalism can still be seen in contemporary times, as the New York Times identified two teenage Chinese shooters as members of a prominent Chinatown gang after seven people were shot in 1986 (NYT, 1986).

This illustration of an opium smoking layout from 1898 shows what paraphernalia would have been associated with Chinese drug dens. 

"A Growing Metropolitan Evil" from Frank Leslie's Illustrated depicts victimization of white women by Chinese men. 

Opium Dens

 

Evidence of Chinatown’s first opium den dates back to the 1850’s, when journalist Frank Leslie wrote a light-hearted burlesque piece on a “nest of cocoanut heads,” (Tchen, 1999) located at the corner of Cherry and James streets. As the dens became more prominent and eventually began to constitute a perceived societal threat, journalists changed their tone, painting the Chinese as enablers and originators of Manhattan’s drug problems.

 

The picture to the left is from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated newspaper in 1883 and depicts innocent white women being victimized by Chinese men in the context of an Opium Den. Bearing the title “A Growing Metropolitan Evil,” this illustration is a single example of persistent attempts to demonize and scapegoat the Chinese for the general prevalence of drugs in Manhattan.

 

Opium has gradually faded into obsolescence globally as it has been superseded in popularity by heroin and other synthetic drugs. As the drug fell in prevalence over the course of the twentieth century, Manhattan Chinatown also lost much of its reputation as a center for illegal stimulants. Opium dens have now effectively disappeared altogether from Manhattan’s landscape, leaving behind only a lingering reason for Chinatown’s historical association with drugs.

Tongs and Gang Violence

 

Chinese gangs were commonly referred to as Tongs, meaning “assembly hall” in Cantonese, which gradually became a household name throughout major U.S. metropolitan areas (Keefe, 2009). While the Tongs (or Hongs) were originally “similar to the trade guilds of past centuries in Canton,” they quickly became infamous for “wars and shootings,” among Caucasian New Yorkers (Leong, 1937). Gor Yun Leong, who studied Chinatowns during the 1930’s, explains that Tongs are not primarily gangs, but rather that “Chinese of all classes join the Tongs mostly for economic protection,” (Leong, 1937).

 

Tongs functioned as trading guilds, and members who engaged in business outside of their group’s sphere were considered to be disloyal. As of 1937, “no Tong member [had] been so courageous as to risk his life to find out,” what would happen if he completed an inter-Tong transaction (Leong, 1937). Despite their wide range of membership, “neither [Tong drew] its income from stores … their financial strength, consequently their power, [was] derived from illicit enterprises such as gambling, white-slaving, and opium,” (Leong, 1937).

 

Most prominent in New York were the On Leong and Hip Sing Tongs, which clung to their precious territory street by street. The Hip Sing Tong came first, with evidence of their “organization of villains,” surfacing as early as Louis Beck’s 1989 groundbreaking book on New York City’s Chinatown (Beck, 1898). Gradually, the On Leong gained prominence, sparking turf wars and increasing outsider awareness of gang violence in Chinatown. Mott Street was traditionally the stomping ground of On Leong, while Hip Sing controlled two thirds of Pell Street and all of Doyers Street (Leong, 1937).

 

Historians refer to the physical clashes between the On Leong and Hip Sing during the early nineteenth century as the Tong Wars. While the worst of these wars were over by the Great Depression, the organizations continued to have major impacts on Chinatown’s commerce and governance until the turn of the twenty-first century. When Hip Sing leader Benny Ong died in 1985, the ensuing struggle for power caused a decade of violence unseen since the original Tong Wars (Keefe, 2009).

 

The fighting and influence of New York Tongs have been depicted in American culture prominently in Herbert Asbury’s “The Gangs of New York” and the phrase “hatchet man” originated from “cleaver-wielding assassins,” which were common during the Tong Wars (Keefe, 2009).

This map of Chinatown scanned from Louis J. Beck's  groundbreaking book"New York's Chinatown" shows the entirety of the neighborhood in 1898. It also makes clear why real estate was so valuable to the On Leong and Hip Sing Tongs that they would risk life and limb to extend their sphere of influence by a few storefronts. 

Modern Doyers Street, the location of many violent confrontations between Tongs throughout Chinatown’s history.

This pool hall sits at the foot of a building which was raided to bust an illegal gambling den during July 2012. The city later seized the entire building, valued at $17 million.

Prostitution and Gambling:

 

Two of the world’s oldest professions also share a long, storied relationship with New York’s Chinatown. By the 1930’s, fifty gambling houses had sprung up throughout the neighborhood, garnering weekly revenue of $100,000. Given that the combined weekly income of all the Chinese in New York at the time was roughly $600,000, “there would seem to be very little money spent on anything but gambling,” (Leong, 1937). Prostitution similarly was a prominent attraction for visitors to the area. Beck notes that because there were so few Chinese women in New York in the late nineteenth century, Chinatown’s prostitutes were “chiefly degraded white women, attracted tither originally by a passion for opium smoking,” (Beck, 1898).

 

Both indulgences are much less prominent in Chinatown today, with police aggressively shutting down gambling parlors and suspected prostitution sites. The police have also seized buildings which rent to such enterprises, incentivizing owners to prevent illicit business (Semple, 2012). 

Police Responses:

 

Historically, the police have aggressively responded to potential crime and violence in Chinatown to the point where many Chinese believe some of their actions to be unjustified and without warrant. In 1879, forty-seven police officers reportedly surrounded the Mott Street Chinese grocery and raided it “on their own information,” despite there being “no formal complaint.” They seized an underwhelming $3 in American money and arrested 31 Chinese from the gambling and opium-smoking room in the rear. All of the prisoners were released by a judge the next day due to “an absence of proof,” (Tchen, 1999).

 

Aggressive responses to Chinese perpetrators have not only carried on but ramped up to today. The photo to the right shows a beauty parlor that was shut down by court order due to evidence of prostitution (Yelp, 2013). Other sections on this page additionally detail aggressive responses by contemporary police in situations involving guns, violence, and illicit activities.

A Chinatown hairdresser closed by police order due to "prostitution and unlicensed massage" in Aug. 2009.

Chinatown's Rise; Crime's Demise

1898

2013

Fifth Precinct Crime Statistics

Modern Crime:

 

As Chinatown has expanded, crime in the area has actually declined. Outside money and property developers have moved into what is now valuable real estate between downtown and midtown Manhattan. Gradually, isolated attempts to gentrify the district have become sustained development marked by an increase in American branding and rising rent costs. Currently, Chinatown is no different from a safety perspective than any other neighborhood in New York City. Part of the benefit of doing such in-depth research into the area’s history with crime shows us that much of any perceived danger in Chinatown is more likely due to lingering historical association rather than tangible hazard.

 

Police data from the NYPD’s fifth precinct, which primarily consists of Manhattan Chinatown, reveals that total crime is down 78% between 1990 and 2013. This falls literally exactly in line with citywide crime numbers, also down 78% over the same period. Statistically, Chinatown is actually safer than New York City taken as a whole, with fewer violent crimes such as rape and murder contributing to the precinct’s total (NYPD, 2013). The difference is made up by a larger number of petty thefts, which is likely explained by the higher number of small shops that populate the area.

 

Recent visitors and residents of Chinatown reinforce these positive statistics. One traveler noted that “Everyone seems to care about their own business and you feel really safe around here no matter where you come from … You will also find old and young Chinese people hanging out in the nearby park at night practicing Chinese dance,” (TripAdvisor, 2013). While some tourists have noted that Chinatown “did not feel safe,” and is “a little scary at night,” this is contradicted by our own primary research.

 

Temporary resident Neil Sood resided in the district for three months with no prior experience living in or around Chinatowns. Neil made it clear that he felt like an outsider during his time in the area – “Once I was walking around it was almost all Chinese. If I saw someone else who wasn’t Asian I could say with almost 99% certainty that they were probably a tourist,” (Sood, 2013). Despite his clear outsider status, Sood was adamant that safety was never a problem, saying that “I had general safety concerns being in New York in general, but Chinatown wasn’t any different,” (Sood, 2013). When prompted to elaborate, he finally conceded that “the only thing I heard of was that I think pickpocketing was more active in Chinatown, but … um, in New York I don’t think [the neighborhood] is the highest source of crime. Basically I just didn’t feel affected by it,” (Sood, 2013).

 

It is important to acknowledge that while the area is generally safe, crime does still occur. Chinatown has typically provided long-range travel busses to various major cities in the U.S., which is of great help to residents of New York looking for cheap transportation. In 2013, these busses were implicated in weapons trafficking schemes leading to the largest gun seizure in the history of New York City. The criminals allegedly used Chinatown busses as a cheap method of transportation into the city on which they smuggled more than two hundred and fifty-four illegal weapons (Robbins, 2013).

 

We believe incidents such as this one to be extremely rare and isolated and would note that the guns were not actually used in Chinatown. The fact remains that Manhattan’s Chinatown has made leaps and bounds of progress towards reducing crime given its long and mysterious history. We hope that this page has clarified any preexisting misconceptions you may have had about risks of tourism in Chinatown and look forward to seeing you soon.

Works Cited:

 

  1. Keefe, Patrick Radden. The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream. New York: Doubleday, 2009. Print.

  2. Beck, Louis J. New York's Chinatown an Historical Presentation of Its People and Places. New York: Bohemia Pub., 1898. Print.

  3. Appo, George, and Timothy J. Gilfoyle. The Urban Underworld in Late Nineteenth-century New York: The Autobiography of George Appo with Related Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. Print.

  4. Tchen, John Kuo Wei. New York before Chinatown: Orientalism and the Shaping of American Culture, 1776-1882. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins UP, 1999. Print.

  5. Leong, Gor Yun. Chinatown Inside Out. New York: B. Mussey, 1936. Print.

  6. Chen, Hsiang-Shui. Chinatown No More: Taiwan Immigrants in Contemporary New York. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1992. Print.

  7. Siu, Paul C. P., and John Kuo Wei. Tchen. The Chinese Laundryman: A Study of Social Isolation. New York: New York UP, 1987. Print.

  8. Shapiro, Julie. "Chinatown Crime Nearly Doubles This Year, Police Say." DNAinfo New York. N.p., 2012. Web.

  9. Robbins, Christopher. "Photos: Largest Gun Seizure In NYC History Involves Chinatown Buses, Stop & Frisk." Gothamist. N.p., 08 Aug. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

  10. Sood, Neil. "Perspectives of a Chinatown Resident." Interview by Max F. Lipscomb.YouTube. AMES 335, 26 Feb. 2014. Web.

  11. Greer, William R. "CHINATOWN YOUTH ARRESTED IN SHOOTING THAT INJURED 7." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 May 1985. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

  12. "2 in a Chinatown Gang Convicted in Shootings." The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 May 1986. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

  13. Hemp, William H. New York Enclaves. New York: C.N. Potter, 1975. Print.

  14. NYPD. "Fifth Precinct Crime Statistics." New York City Government Website. NYPD CompuStat Unit, n.d. Web. 2013.

  15. NYPD. "Citywide Crime Statistics." New York City Government Website. NYPD CompuStat Unit, n.d. Web. 2013.

  16. "Chinatown, New York City." Trip Advisor Reviews. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.

  17. Semple, Kirk, and Jeffrey E. Singer. "Chinatown Gambling Raid May Reveal Cultural Divide." The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 July 2012. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.

  18. "Chinatown, New York City." Yelp Reviews. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.

Picture URL's (In Order):

 

  1. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/JakabBailBonds-580.jpg

  2. http://web.uvic.ca/vv/student/chinatown/opium/Untitled-20.jpg

  3. http://nightstick.azurewebsites.net/image.axd?picture=%2f2013%2f09%2fGrowing-Metropolitan-Evil.png

  4. [No URL, scanned from Louis J. Beck's 1898 book, New York's Chinatown]

  5. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b3/Doyers_Street.jpg/300px-Doyers_Street.jpg

  6. <>

  7. http://s3-media1.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/kWeN-OcXZkwHq1ftab8vdg/l.jpg

  8. [No URL, scanned from Louis J. Beck's 1898 book, New York's Chinatown]

  9. http://www.chinatownpartnership.org/newsletter/2014-02-14%20Newsletter_files/bidservicearea.jpg

  10. http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs005pct.pdf

  11. http://gothamist.com/upload/2013/08/81913gun6.jpg

  12. http://gothamist.com/upload/2013/08/81913gun1.jpg

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