Reflective Urbanisms:

Mapping New York Chinatown

Interview conducted in March 2022.

+ How long have you been living / working in Chinatown?
How did you come to be connected to Chinatown?
I am the fortunate owner of 18 Bowery. It was given to me almost as a gift because the last owner did not want to deal with not giving it to someone else in Chinatown. The owner died on the way to a closing (he was named Owen Chin and owned Summit Mortgage Bank). Literally, at that time, I turned up. Cindy Chin, the wife, sold it to me, probably around 2012.

The building is at this corner of Chinatown — it’s the anchor of Chinatown. 

My connection to Chinatown is my affection for the Bowery and the history of the Bowery. It’s the meeting point and the melting point of New York City; there are layers of history on one street. Pell Street is a part of the old Five Points and this is the oldest building in the neighborhood and the seventh oldest one in New York.


+ Who are the current users and tenants of this building?
I live on the top fourth floor.
The third floor is a rental.
The second floor is an event space and the ground floor is being renovated to be transformed into an old Victorian pub.

+ When was this building constructed? Who is the architect for this building?
The building was built in 1778 or so. It was built on land that was confiscated from James Delancey. Edward Mooney was the merchant who built it; he was good friends with Jacob Astor, who owned the Bull’s Head Tavern up the road at 52 Bowery.