Inside the N.Y.C. Neighborhood With the Fastest Growing Asian Population
The New York Times
In a corner of Queens, a fivefold increase in Asian residents since 2010 is transforming the area’s restaurants, housing and politics.
Yumpling, a Taiwanese eatery, opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in August 2020, when New York City was in an uneasy limbo between waves of the coronavirus. Indoor dining was still banned, but the owners had signed the lease right before the pandemic and could not keep paying rent on an empty storefront.
To their surprise, they sold out of food within three hours of opening their doors in Long Island City, Queens. A line of Asian Americans waited around the block for beef noodle soup and pork dumplings.
Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, Yumpling, which had operated a food truck in Manhattan, is one of at least 15 Asian-owned businesses — including a Mandarin child care center and hair salon — that have opened in the neighborhood since March 2020.
