![]() With the growing tension and worsening polarization of our society, Jing Fong stands as an example of bringing people together rather than polarizing them, where everyone is welcome to relish the delights of dim sum in the bright, red-gold interior of its restaurant. ![]() Patrons of all backgrounds come to Jing Fong – old and young, couples and families, and Asians and non-Asians. Reaching all the way down to Canal Street, the block is full of Jing Fong patrons, eagerly awaiting for their ticket numbers to be called. On weekend mornings, Elizabeth Street is packed as early as 10am. Originally located at 24 Elizabeth Street, Jing Fong was moved to 20 Elizabeth Street, expanding their seating from a mere 150 seats to a sizable amount of 800 seats. The restaurant was nearly bankrupt when Shui Ling Lam bought it, saving it and raising it to its current status as the largest and one of the most popular restaurants in Chinatown. ![]() As New York City barely skirted bankruptcy, Jing Fong was barely getting by as well, with its growing operating expenses. Further, the city surpassed its operating capabilities as money was extensively spent with overly exaggerated prospects of revenue. The national economic stagnation of the 1970s was heavily felt by New York City, worsened by the falling of tax revenue as middle-class residents moved out of the city and into the suburbs. The problems of the neighbourhood, along with nation and city-wide economic troubles, seeped into the business as financial, union, and lawsuit problems arose. The restaurant was not exempt from needing some of this luck. It was a time when everyone needed some “Golden Wind,” or some good luck. The restaurant first opened in 1978, a time when gang violence was spilling out onto the streets of Chinatown. Off the path of the familiar Canal Street that we recognize as the center of Chinatown’s flurry of activities is Elizabeth Street, housing the renowned dim sum eatery Jing Fong, which has, through periods of social tension, always survived and lived up to its name “Golden Wind.”
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