Radical Chinatown activists with ties to the Young Communist League and Councilmember Marte slander multigenerational community leaders and harass families
Youth Against Displacement has spent years attacking longtime Chinatown community members while staging aggressive protests outside the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA). Demonstrators have reportedly spent hours outside the museum shouting at visitors, including families and children, while circulating leaflets and social media posts that misrepresent community leaders.
One of their central accusations is a fabricated story on the closure of the historic Jing Fong restaurant at 20 Elizabeth Street. Activists claim the restaurant was forced out by Jonathan Chu, the landlord. Jing Fong shut down in March 2020 when New York banned large gatherings during the pandemic. Even before Covid, business had sharply declined. Owner Truman Lam noted that on some weekdays fewer than 40 diners filled a dining hall designed for nearly 800 guests.
When the pandemic hit, the restaurant stopped paying rent and eventually surrendered its lease. Chu agreed to release the tenant, even though the landlord was legally entitled to collect rent for the remaining years of the lease. Jing Fong later reopened in a smaller location on Centre Street and continues operating today.
After the closure, activists began protesting Chu. They demanded that the landlord somehow force Jing Fong to return to the massive banquet hall, even though Jing Fong asked to get out of their lease. The large third floor location remained vacant for years until it was eventually leased to a family-owned Swiss furniture company, Vitra.
Another allegation concerns the controversial jail redevelopment plan in Lower Manhattan. Youth Against Displacement scapegoats MOCA as being responsible for building the jail. The museum itself opposed and testified against the jail proposal. Funding secured during the city process helped the museum purchase its building and avoid displacement, protecting an important cultural institution dedicated to the Chinese diaspora.
The protest campaign has continued with anonymous social media accounts spreading claims that mischaracterize longtime community members.
Chinatown has long been shaped by immigrant families who invested decades building businesses and meaningful organizations. Demonizing those families through misleading narratives does not protect the neighborhood. It undermines the very community leadership that helped sustain Chinatown through generations of change.
