Main Street, Flushing, Queens, New York

 

Biang! at 41-10 Main St.

 In the 1970s, the Taiwanese established a foothold in Flushing, whose constituency had been predominantly non-Hispanic white.  It was known as Little Taipei or Little Taiwan. The Taiwanese immigrants that began arriving into New York City were unable to relate to the originally established Manhattan Chinatown, which was initially dominated by the Cantonese language and people before receiving large numbers of Fujianese immigrants but a generally working class community. Housing conditions in Manhattan's Chinatown were poor, and the Taiwanese immigrants were more likely to have attained higher education and economic status, and so they settled in Flushing instead. As their population grew, they eventually created their own Flushing Chinatown with a higher standard of living and which had better housing conditions.  The current food scene is evolving with chic spots like Biang! popping up.