Tenement Talks - Chinatown Noir

New York's Chinatown comes alive in the work of authors S.J. Rozan and Henry Chang, who read and discussed their respective novels, the Lydia Chin mysteries and the Chinatown Beat trilogy, at the museum yesterday.



A brief history of Chinatown: Around the time 97 Orchard Street was built, Chinese immigrants formed an insular community in the Five Points slum to shield themselves from rising discrimination. Chinatown's population continued to expand even after the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in the late 19th century, limiting naturalization and barring the entry of worker's families. Shops and restaurants serving the needs of Chinatown's residents flourished.