Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Chinatown Residents Struggle To Fight Real Estate Firm's Gentrification By Force
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 16, 2011
Modified Aug 16, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
left
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 16, 2011
Modified Aug 16, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Our apartment has never had the heat cut off out of spite, and we've never been subjected to threats of eviction if our rent was a few days late. But perhaps that's because we pay market value for our place on Delancey, and aren't Chinese. An article in the Times details how Madison Capital, an Upper East Side real estate firm, is reportedly using strong-armed tactics to "persuade" Chinese rent-stabilized tenants on the border of Chinatown and the Lower East Side to leave to make room for gentrifying rubes like us.
58-year-old garment worker Zhi Qin Zheng has lived at 61 Delancey for 30 years, and raised both her children there. Madison Capital has seemingly tried every trick in the book to get rid of her: installing cameras in the hallways, demanding that Chinese residents remove New Year decorations, and threatening her with eviction if rent was a day or two late. When ploys like accusing one Chinese mother of two of being a prostitute don't work, they offer buyouts of up to $60,000.
But this is home for Zheng and the other tenants, many of whom arrived from the Fujian Province decades ago. “It is battles all the time here; lots of people are leaving,” Zheng tells the reporter through an interpreter, “I know my rights, but I am nervous.”
And she should be, given that Madison Capital bought her building and neighboring 55 Delancey for $20 million in 2008 (they went for $6 million in 2003) and must charge "a minimum of $6,500 per apartment" monthly to make a profit.
Madison Capital's exploits have been detailed before by the Village Voice, and the Chinatown Tenants Union has sued to protect the tenants' right to hang decorations and have their apartments repaired. Asked if she would leave her apartment for a payout or otherwise, Zheng says, "“My income is not high. I may be a short-timer, but where do I go? Where? No. This is a home. Why should money make me move?”
Tagged
Chinatown
gentrification
Lower East Side
manhattan
upper east side
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot and killed on Midtown subway platform Saturday afternoon, NYPD says
Police said they're searching for a person of interest.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 1:16 p.m. ET
Modified Oct 17, 2026 at 3:19 p.m. ET
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
News
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans, but we could get used to this.
By
Catalina Gonella
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
By
Willow Higgins
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
By
Rosemary Misdary
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .