Dumplings and scallion pancakes, move over. Gentrification and new development are taking over Chinatown.
The neighborhood’s restaurant scene is on the front lines, with old-time eateries being replaced by new types of cuisine and bank branches.
Ali Baba Organic Market Now Occupies 1 Mott Street, while Pulqueria, a tequila and taco joint, has opened at 11 Doyers Street. Next door at 9 Doyers is Apothoke, a cocktail bar popular with suburbanites, according to the New York Post.
“There are not as many restaurants” in the neighborhood, admitted James Tang, a grandson of “Shorty” Tang, who opened Hwa Yuan at 40 East Broadway in 1968. A revamped and expanded version of the restaurant is opening soon, but it will feature a marble facade.
Beyond the restaurant scene, rental and condo development has found its way to Chinatown in recent years, and last year landlord Andy Chau filed plans for a mixed-use building at 86 Canal Street.
Several large-scale projects are also rising in Two Bridges, including Extell Development’s One Manhattan Square at 252 South Street, JDS Development Group’s 247 Cherry Street and L+M Development and CIM Group’s 260 South Street. [NYP] — E.B. Solomont