A growing Chinese population in Brooklyn has led to shoppers gridlock in Sunset Park’s Chinatown. The Brooklyn Ink reports:<\/p>\n
Chinatown is outgrowing its Eight Avenue britches. Chinese immigrants continue to pour in to the neighborhood. A walk down the street during the day requires quick and aggressive maneuvering, and jutting elbows. Goods displayed by stores spill out from the actual shops and out onto the sidewalks. An old zoning code capping the expansion of commercial activities above the ground floor, store owners who want to grow are now being pushed by city planners to try their fortunes on other streets.<\/p>\n
While zoning laws prevent Chinese business owners from expanding further, a strong belief in \u201clucky number eight\u201d is keeping merchants clustered on Eighth Avenue where Chinatown was formed three decades ago.<\/p>\n
Chen Xiaojuan, 53, who runs a grocery market on the corner of 58th St and Eighth Ave is typical when he says he would \u201cnever give up\u201d his doubly-enviable address. Chen is convinced that the presence of 8s surrounding his store has helped him tremendously in his success.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at this corner compared to 57th or 56th Street. It’s always busier here. Maybe you don’t know why,\u201d he says with a grin, \u201cbut I know why.\u201d<\/p>\n
The crowded conditions have thus far been trumped by the ingrained belief that the number eight leads to more prosperity. The word for eight\u2014\u201cba\u201d\u2014and the word for prosperous\u2014\u201cfa\u201d\u2014are near homophones. It’s not uncommon for Chinese to pay more to have an \u201c8\u201d in their address or on their car license plates.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/voicesofny.org\/2011\/12\/brooklyn-chinatown-bursting-at-seams\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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