Margaret Chin, the first Asian-American elected to represent Chinatown in the City

Margaret Chin, the first Asian-American elected to represent Chinatown in the City Council, celebrated her swearing in to that office with what almost certainly were other firsts for a Councilmember’s inauguration: karaoke and indoor fireworks.

With the more solemn oath-taking ceremony at City Hall behind her the day before, Chin did a rerun Wednesday evening, this time in high Chinatown style. She treated some 750 supporters, family members and friends to a 10-course feast at Jing Fong Restaurant on Elizabeth Street. Many of those present were members of her “family association,” a group whose grassroots efforts in the Chinese-American community helped propell the candidate to victory in the September Democratic primary.

Following remarks by Comptroller-elect John Liu and State Senator Daniel Squadron, State Supreme Court Judge Doris Ling-Cohan spoke to the crowd.

“Many of us as Asian-American elected officials stand on the shoulders of Margaret Chin,” she said. “We have seen Margaret Chin stand on the streets of Chinatown registering voters for decades.”


Ling-Cohan swore in Chin, with husband Alan Tung and son Kevin at her side. Then the new City Coucilwoman, whose sprawling district runs from the tip of Manhattan to Greenwich Village, addressed her supporters in both Cantonese and English. While acknowledging the help of her Chinese-American supporters, who overwhelmingly filled the room, she pledged to represent all her constituents.

“I promise every single community in [Council] District 1 will be represented,” she said.

With three failed previous runs for the office, Chin seemed to bask in the festivities all the more.

“The journey has been long,” she told the gathering. “But the celebration is fantastic, isn’t it?”