“Flushing—The Bigger, Better and Downright Sexier Chinatown of New York”: Transnational Growth Coalitions and Immigrant Economies

Abstract

Anchored by thousands of immigrant-owned businesses, the commercial corridors of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Flushing, Queens represents a culinary crossroads of restaurants, grocery stores, fruit and vegetable stands, supermarkets, bakeries, and street vendors, leading one journalist to deem Flushing the better (and sexier) Chinatown. While Flushing’s ethnic economy represents one of New York City’s dynamic immigrant entrepreneurial hubs, its small businesses tend to be commercial tenants and are at risk of gentrification and displacement due to the influx of transnational real estate capital. This chapter focuses on Flushing Commons as an exemplar former Mayor Bloomberg legacy commercial real estate project that marked a tipping point in Flushing’s evolution from an immigrant enclave economy into an epicenter of luxury developments and transnational finance with a high concentration of Asian banks and ancillary professional services in real estate, law, and finance. Based on archival research, data analysis, and interviews, my chapter argues that Flushing’s commercial properties have been transformed into financial assets bought and sold in a global market catalyzing the hyper-gentrification of an immigrant economy.

From subtitle of Devan Vanderpoel, September 18, 2019, “Flushing, Queens: The Other Chinatown” article—https://fordhamram.com/69896/culture/flushing-queens-the-other-chinatown/.