![]() At its peak, it represented 200 workers in Chinatown. The workers are fighting for their jobs but also to keep Chinatown’s only restaurant workers union alive.įirst established in 1980, after workers at the now-defunct Silver Palace restaurant organized against wage theft, 318 Restaurant Workers Union grew to become the only union representing Chinese restaurant workers. “This is not simply about a workplace, for many this a social institution in the community.” “During the good times the landlord made off like a bandit so this is the time that the landlord should do the right thing for the community and for the workers,” says Nelson Mar, president of 318 Restaurant Workers Union. Jing Fong’s second location on the Upper West Side will continue to operate as normal.Īccording to the union, Jing Fong’s lease with the Chus was unusual in that it required the restaurant not only to pay property taxes but also to share a portion of the restaurant’s profits with the landlord. In a statement shared with Documented, Truman Lam, Jing Fong’s current manager and operator stated that with the “drastic decline in sales and mounting losses sustained over the course of a year, we needed to make the tough call to close our indoor dining space and redirect our resources in hopes to continue our operations.” Documented was not able to reach the Chu family.Īlthough the dining room is slated to close, it will continue to operate the kitchen and provide customers with outdoor dining, takeout, and delivery options. Several of the new hotel developments in Chinatown are owned by the Chus and Jonathan Chu sits on the Board of Directors of the Museum of Chinese in America.Īccording to Jing Fong, during the pandemic, the restaurant’s sales drastically declined by 85 percent and the restaurant lost nearly $6 million. The Chu family, which owns East Bank, is one of the largest and most powerful families in Chinatown. Undeterred, workers and their supporters circled around the bank several times chanting “Save Jing Fong, Save Chinatown!” and “Shame on Alex Chu!“Īlso Read: Pearl River Mart Was Never Just a Store. Workers attempted to hand-deliver a letter stating their demands but were denied entry by bank employees with the assistance of the NYPD. On Tuesday, over one hundred people gathered outside East Bank on Canal and Centre Street, to demand Jing Fong’s landlord Alex Chu and his son Jonathan Chu keep the restaurant’s dining room open. Because the food was very good, I'll probably come back here when I'm in New York but at a later time when the kitchen is actually open.Workers at Jing Fong are refusing to go down without a fight. While we had 5 people to our group and was eating at the time, the restaurant decided to add one more person (a stranger) to our table. Really? Next, the restaurant definitely maximizes their tables. ![]() When we found a waiter and wanted to order a noodle dish, he told us that the kitchen doesn't open until 11 AM. Also, to try to find a waiter to order a dish, was pretty difficult. It was actually easier to go to the dim sum cart and get your dish than to have to wait for them to come around. ![]() As for the food, the dim sum was very good albeit you had to wait for the dim sum carts to come to your table. By the time we left the restaurant at around 11 AM on a Sunday, there was a long line, which stretched outside the building. Get there early if you don't want to wait for a table. After you take the escalator to the second floor, you are greeted by a huge dining room. ![]()
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