“As young Chinese kids, we were not encouraged to get out of Chinatown much. It wasn’t as though we couldn’t; it was a matter of how we felt and how people might look at you.”

“My parents, coming from in Philippines, identified with Chinatown quickly, because [Chinatown] was where we were able to get Philippine ingredients for cooking. So, I spent a lot of time here. My grandmother also had a restaurant here in Chinatown. “

“I enjoy Chinese New Year. For eight days there’s always noise, firecrackers, you smell the delicious food, you walk around. For Chinese New Year, we go to different houses and I remember mother’s table full of food. People come and we serve things to him. Those were the days but now we don’t do that anymore. Not only our family, every family.”

“Most of the kids stuck close to Chinatown. We never crossed Broadway to play, beyond 11th because we were always afraid somebody was going to beat us up. Oh yes, us kids were afraid.”

“Ming Quong was our home, where we grew up together and became lifelong friends.”

“Madison Park is our town square. We worked hard to preserve and improve this space for the community. This is where you feel the the energy of our Tai Chi groups coming from all over.“