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All pictures by Jake Value
When pondering of Manhattan’s Chinatown, many vibrant locations and occasions come to thoughts—New 12 months celebrations, bustling eating places, and vigorous retailers lining the streets. One place that most likely doesn’t, however ought to: the Open Door Senior Center, the place there’s hardly a uninteresting second. The cafeteria, hung with pink lanterns, swells with the conversations of regulars and the aroma of Chinese language favorites like beef with black bean sauce, pork spare ribs, and stir-fried bok choi.
After they’re not consuming or speaking, the seniors take portray lessons—or play mahjong, Ping-Pong, and bingo. They sing Peking opera and dance Broadway musical numbers. Holidays are celebrated with joyful group fanfare.
The director of the middle, Po-Ling Ng, based the group in 1972, with funding from the town’s Chinese American Planning Council and, later, the state of New York as nicely. Now in her mid-70s, she will not be with out humor—or youthful vigor: She says she nonetheless feels just like the 23-year-old she was when she arrived in Manhattan from Hong Kong.
Meals, she says, performs a key function in drawing individuals to the middle. “Lots of [them] say, ‘I prefer to go to Open Door as a result of I really like the style of Chinese language meals.’”
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