Welcome to Chinatown

Welcome to Chinatown A grassroots initiative to supporting NYC Chinatown businesses following the rapid decline in business as a result of COVID-19 and increased xenophobia.

Next Week:🏮 x 🏃🏻‍♀️= 🎉 WtC Runs meets Mid-Autumn Festival! On Sept 30 we’re lacing up for round 3 of Welcome to Chinato...
09/21/2026

Next Week:🏮 x 🏃🏻‍♀️= 🎉

WtC Runs meets Mid-Autumn Festival! On Sept 30 we’re lacing up for round 3 of Welcome to Chinatown Runs.

This month: An easy 5K thru Chinatown, finishing up with some eats from Sampaguita 🇵🇭, our featured biz who will also be a vendor at our upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival! 🏮 (Don’t forget to join us for that the weekend after your run!)

Remember, all levels welcome, free to join, but spots are limited so RSVP link in bio 🔗

Come as you are, leave with a new favorite spot (and maybe a new PR).

📣Heard Around Town: silence from the Mayor’s office.City & State NY just covered our latest push to get NYC Mayor's Offi...
09/15/2026

📣Heard Around Town: silence from the Mayor’s office.

City & State NY just covered our latest push to get NYC Mayor's Office to engage with us on the Chinatown jail. His team had nothing to say.

We’ve already sent the letter. We’ve shown up. Silence isn’t a good enough answer, and we won’t slow down.

The coalition meets again in October. Link in bio for anyone curious about our ongoing fight. 💪🏽

DYK: Opening a NYC storefront can run you ~$187,000 with build-out, rent, inventory, insurance costs — sometimes more de...
09/13/2026

DYK: Opening a NYC storefront can run you ~$187,000 with build-out, rent, inventory, insurance costs — sometimes more depending on location and recurring costs.

Our residency is holding an open call for business owners. We will cover all the upfront costs, and heavily subsidize rent for four final entrepreneurs next year.

Imagine moving right in to a fully built-out 550 sq ft retail space for a fraction of market rent.

Start testing and growing, without betting your savings on it. Priority deadline to opt in is tonight. The quick interest form takes 10 minutes. Don’t wait. Link in bio!

A Chinatown view, from our Hub. 25 Years Later. The skyline changed, but the spirit of NYC, of Chinatown, didn’t. A remi...
09/11/2026

A Chinatown view, from our Hub. 25 Years Later.

The skyline changed, but the spirit of NYC, of Chinatown, didn’t.

A reminder how much our neighborhood has carried, but continues to build. Thoughts, prayers, love to families, first responders, Chinatown residents, workers, and our Lower Manhattan neighbors. Never forget. 🕯️🇺🇸

A former neon artist whose work has been in Vogue just opened a tea house on Hester Street 🍵Meet Juno Shen, owner of Sof...
08/31/2026

A former neon artist whose work has been in Vogue just opened a tea house on Hester Street 🍵

Meet Juno Shen, owner of Soft Hours Tea House (柔時閑堂) at 119B Hester Street.

Before tea, it was neon art lighting. Now her Daoist philosophy shapes everything.... a menu of five teas that shift with the seasons, and a tiny straw meant to remind you to slow down.

Full story on why she built a tea house around ancient rhythms ⬇️
linked below and on our blog!

Written by Alice Yang
Photographed by ka.tcam

Welcome to Chinatown Runs are back for our second monthly one. Same plan, same mission with a new new small biz on the m...
08/17/2026

Welcome to Chinatown Runs are back for our second monthly one. Same plan, same mission with a new new small biz on the map.

Join us on August 26th at The Hub (115 Bowery)!

The scene: A relaxed 5K over the Manhattan Bridge & back, finishing at a small biz that deserves the foot traffic.

Who it’s for: Beginners, experts, all levels welcome! Come as you are. Leave with a new connection, maybe a new bookmarked spot on your map.

Stay to learn about this month’s small biz being highlighted: 🥟

How to lace up: Free to join, but space is limited! RSVP at link in bio.

ABC7 just aired it: Independent air quality monitors near Chinatown’s jail site registered higher air pollution levels v...
08/17/2026

ABC7 just aired it: Independent air quality monitors near Chinatown’s jail site registered higher air pollution levels vs. all of NYC during demolition. What’s most alarming is what the news team didn’t have time to cover. 🧵👇

🚨 25% of the time thru 2023, the City’s own monitors weren’t recording and data just went “missing” … these windows lined up with when there were pollution spikes.

🚨The City reported no violations during demolition. But when the City’s threshold is 3x HIGHER than WHO health guidelines, is this actually clean, safe air we’re breathing?

A neighborhood that’s still living with legacy 9/11 dust exposure health issues endured all of demolition and now will breathe in 7+ years of construction dust.

Ask Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani Speaker Julie Menin and NYC DDC to re-evaluate this site and determine whether safe construction can realistically be completed here…

🎤 Heard in Chinatown: Part TwoWe’re back with more words that don’t translate. We asked small business owners for one wo...
08/11/2026

🎤 Heard in Chinatown: Part Two

We’re back with more words that don’t translate. We asked small business owners for one word, one phrase in their native language….. something with no direct English translation, something that captures how they think about work, their values, their identity.
Language holds what translation loses. These are the words that carry generations of culture, family, and meaning… straight from those living it today.

💬 Swipe through to hear / read in their own words. 👉🏼

Recap & appreciation photo dump (📸 courtesy of ka.tcam) from last Fri’s Gaysian Night Mkt in Chinatown. Lines were out t...
07/28/2026

Recap & appreciation photo dump (📸 courtesy of ka.tcam) from last Fri’s Gaysian Night Mkt in Chinatown. Lines were out the door all night! Thank you everyone for making this event a night of celebration, love, pride, and continued support for all our individual projects & work. Flip thru our fave scenes from the night. Special thanks to LAUREN CHAN 🦋FELICIA OH🦋 𝔼𝕞𝕚 𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖 Canal Sound & Light Meixi Xu Blasian March nyc mahjong club for q***r/trans asians 🀄️ 𝐋𝐓𝐋𝐓 | 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 toast supper club glasscandies2ml Lumpy Studios vanessa nguyễn Noorvaan Candles Gary Harry Trinh

Drumroll for our OFFICIAL Gaysian Night Market lineup on July 24!🌈 Come to The Hub from 7-10p to shop, eat, vibe, and ce...
07/15/2026

Drumroll for our OFFICIAL Gaysian Night Market lineup on July 24!

🌈 Come to The Hub from 7-10p to shop, eat, vibe, and celebrate the q***r AAPI small businesses, art, food, community, and culture.

Performances + Partners:
Host ✨Mother✨ Lauren Chan LAUREN CHAN model, TV personality, and AAPI + LGBTQ+ advocate.

🪭 𝔼𝕞𝕚 𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖 - Brooklyn-based drag artist best known for singing in multiple languages, and for her explorations of q***r narratives within the Asian-Pacific Islander diaspora.
🪭🦋FELICIA OH🦋 - the full frontal fe****io fantasy of NYC. She is not your model minority – she’s just a model.
🪩DJ Meixi Xu - young architect by day, DJ by night
🀄 nyc mahjong club for q***r/trans asians 🀄️ - NYC’s only mahjong social club for q***r & trans Asians
📚 Blasian March - Black-Asian solidarity through art, education & joy — book giveaway + tarot readings on-site

Vendors:
💜𝐋𝐓𝐋𝐓 | 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 — Filipino desserts from generations of family recipes
💜 toast supper club — Viet-Filipino street food & heritage flavors
💜 edible affairs 🍽️ / .⋆*°• 𝒿𝒶𝓂𝒾𝑒 .•°*⋆. — experimental catering & bespoke vibes
💜 glasscandies2ml — playful & delectable fragrances
💜Lumpy Studios — nostalgic objects for the culturally in-between
💜 vanessa nguyễn — Vietnamese-American illustration with a cheeky edge
💜 — South Asian Inspired Candles handmade in Harlem
💜 Gary Afable — Playful ceramics full of personality & whimsy

Special thanks to cocokind and Lunar Hard Seltzer for supporting our event!

Address

New York, NY
10002

Telephone

+16464021639

Website

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