Rain or shine — or, in this case, yet another stifling New York heat wave — nothing will stand in the way of the city’s Chinatown summer block parties. On July 7, people braved the scorching heat with colorful parasols and paper fans, while others rested in the shade perched on blue plastic stools, chatting away until the sun set over the horizon of buildings in Lower Manhattan.
Now, the real party can begin.
Under the twinkle of a disco ball securely slung over some metal scaffolding, DJ Rekha and YiuYiu 瑶瑶 take turns blasting South Asian and Chinese music out of a newsstand turned DJ booth on Mosco Street.
Cheers erupt from the dance circle that has formed, as a family makes their way to the center, the crowd waving their fans and clapping enthusiastically as the group shakes their shoulders and waves their arms to a series of classic Bollywood songs.
“We saw this family come through and, judging by what they were holding, they were just passing by and not planning to come to the block party,” said Yin Kong, director and co-founder of Think!Chinatown, a nonprofit organization in Chinatown that’s behind these parties. “There was the grandpa, the mom and dad, the kids, and they got in the middle of the circle and danced — it was super cute.”
Kong’s favorite moments are when people happen upon the block parties and “just feel inclined to come in and dance.” The block party in early July was no exception as passersby stopped to observe the outdoor dance floor, some nodding their heads and swaying their hips to the beats emerging from the short one-block street.
These block parties unofficially emerged from the Corky in a Box exhibit back in 2020. A corner newsstand on Mosco Street — once known for the woman who sold egg cakes out of it — featured photography by beloved community member Corky Lee. Lee passed away the following year, and that very newsstand he held his last exhibit in became a site of remembrance and celebration for…
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