Memories and COVID-19

    In these years, the overall population growth in 8th avenue has stalled and has declined slowly just like what other Chinese communities went through. The first wave of Cantonese settlers moved to Bensonhurst, searching for new opportunities. The first group of  Fujianese immigrants in the 2000s saved enough money to afford a house in suburban areas such as Philadelphia, Long Island, and Staten Island. This is happening around us and I can see it as the immigration wave has diminished after the Obama years. Throughout the conversation with my long time friend who now lives in Florida, she talked about her memories of 8th avenue. She specifically mentioned the grocery store we always go to after school. The store was always crowded with students who wanted to buy snacks, quick foods, and beverages. What was special about the place was the joy we shared as students, as the place we would go for some comforts and girl talks. Even when she was visiting us, we always picked some snacks from the stores and took them to our middle school playground to eat, talk, and gossip. 

 

    On the other hand, my cousins, who spent childhood growing up in 8th avenue and moved to Queens after her parents purchased a house, recalled the annual Chinese New Year parade. I was part of their memories and witnessed the event with them which they are still able to recall. The parade was spread from 50th street to 60th street. In the streets, Chinese American organizations planned a series of performances and dragon dances to celebrate our traditional new year. With the greets from the city and state-level politicians, at that moment, we felt the sense of recognition of our values and importance in this holiday by the general American society. 

    To this moment, the feeling still lasted but was hit hard by the COVID-19. As 2020 is almost finished, the impact on 8th avenue and every other neighborhood is never going to go away so soon. I still remember in March when the pandemic just started to get serious in New York City, a bustling place like 8th avenue became a ghost neighborhood, just like other communities. Businesses shut down for months and people were in a panic of the shortage of food as we prepared for a long lockdown at home. Not to mention, our other family members who worked in restaurants from upstate or other states had to come back because their restaurants were closed and they had nowhere to stay. Sometimes, landlords were nice enough to provide them cheaper rent to stay. The majority of the time, many were forced to stay in a small room with shared bathrooms and kitchen with other strangers that were in a similar situation. It was devastating to the community as we experienced limited housing spaces, food shortages, skyrocketing inflation, and job depletion. It was also heartbreaking and terrifying to hear ambulance siren throughout the day and in the middle of the night. Many businesses on 8th avenue were gone as many couldn't afford the rents to keep it open. Others were terrified to go outside the community, thinking of the possibility that they could be harassed or physically attacked on the train or other public areas because of the prejudice that Chinese people were responsible for bringing the virus to the city. It’s hard to imagine how we moved from the moment when we were celebrating new years with everyone to the moment when we were blamed for the devastating pandemic. 

After going through this pandemic, I can imagine 8th avenue becoming like other people’s neighborhoods as so many of us want to move out of the place that is just too expensive to live in nowadays. Houses are expensive for their location and the convenience for non-English speaking immigrants. For the second generation like me however, as we grew up, we find that it is unreasonable to have to live in such expensive places. Many already moved out, and others are planning to look for more opportunities outside the community. I know that I am also going to be one of these people once I finish my college education. America is a vast country and there’s so many opportunities and places for me to explore. 8th avenue will always hold a special place in my heart, with all the memories and footprints of our culture left behind, but life is always about looking ahead, navigating, and creating the best of the different experiences. This does not mean we should forget our part of the stories in the history of 8th avenue. Just like when coffee is accidentally spilled over the carpet, you can try your best to clean it but the stain will still be seen. In the years to come, 8th avenue will change by a little or a lot but our institutions and cultural influences will always last.