Truman Lam, manager of Jing Fong Restaurant in Manhattan's Chinatown, pictured in February. In contrast, claims were up 1,840% for white workers, 1,260% for black workers, and 2,100% for Hispanic and Latino workers in New York. That’s a 6,900% increase - by far the largest percentage increase experienced by any one racial or ethnic group. In the state, about 147,000 self-identified Asian workers have filed initial unemployment claims in the last four weeks alone, up from just 2,100 during the same period last year. He declined to say whether he has filed for benefits, too.Īcross New York, businesses like Lam’s have shut down during the coronavirus pandemic and Asian American workers have filed for unemployment benefits at extraordinary rates. Soon after, Lam made the final decision to furlough 170 staff members across two locations and encourage them to apply for unemployment benefits. But “it became more and more obvious that we couldn’t even cover the payroll for that day,” Lam said. “That day, I decided, you know what? Let’s just close for the rest of the weekdays,” Lam told CNN Business, adding that he was thinking about staying open on the typically busier weekends.Īs long as the restaurant could cover workers’ wages each day, Lam felt it was still worth it to stay open. All of the parties in March were canceled, too, he said. But on that day, Lam counted just 36 guests.īusiness had started to slow as early as January and was down 80%. Jing Fong’s dining room is massive a destination for banquets and weddings, it can hold up to 794 people - and on weekends, there has historically been a long wait to get in for dim sum. During the peak lunch hour, he went upstairs to count how many customers he still had. pass the Chinatown Working Group plan to protect the whole Chinatown and the Lower East Side from displacement.Ten days before New York issued a stay-at-home order, Truman Lam, 35, was already contemplating whether to close his restaurant Jing Fong, an icon in Manhattan’s Chinatown. lower the rent and property tax to save Chinatown businessesĤ. stop the new jail and instead use the resource to fund Chinatown recoveryģ. stop the Chu family’s eviction of Jing Fong RestaurantĢ. Isn’t this also violence against the Chinese community? Therefore, we call on you to immediately step in and take a stand to save Jing Fong and Chinatown from being destroyed by big developers and landlords like the Chu family:ġ. The closure of Jing Fong Restaurant is having a serious impact on Chinatown. You have come out against anti-Asian violence. Alex Chu and Jonathan Chu have benefited from Jing Fong’s business all these years, but during the pandemic when the business has gone down, they are heartlessly trying to use rent to force the restaurant to close. The Chu family is the biggest landlord in Chinatown and the owner of Eastbank. Such a bleak prospect is caused directly by its landlord, Alex Chu and Jonathan Chu. Many are wondering if Chinatown can continue to exist with Jing Fong Restaurant, the heart of Chinatown, shut down. Workers are losing their jobs and small businesses would lose faith in surviving the pandemic. The announcement of the closure of Chinatown’s iconic Jing Fong Restaurant has sent a shock wave in the community and beyond.
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