Ian Duncan A musician plays outside Kenka, a popular Japanese restaurant on St. Marks Place. Census figures show Asians to be the fastest growing ethnic group in the neighborhood.Richard Lan’s family moved to the Lillian Wald Houses 14 years ago when he was just a baby. His mother still works in Chinatown as a janitor in a drug store, but his two older sisters led the move to the public housing in search of more space.
City statistics suggest Richard’s family is just one of many who have made the move. Data provided to The Local by the housing authority show that Asians make up almost 20 percent of East Village public housing tenants, and figures from the 2010 census show Asians to be the fastest growing ethnic group in the neighborhood. In the streets immediately north of Houston, the number of Asian residents almost doubled. Is this the beginnings of a China Village to complement Chinatown? Perhaps, but interpreting the numbers is difficult.
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