Our History Is Already Written (II): Chinatown (2019)
River 瑩瑩 Dandelion
for Zheng Tai Tai and Liang Tai Tai1
You ask us why we fight.
We had no other choice.
My first apartment, Leaking
Roof, Cracked walls
Lined with mold, Fungus
Propagating in living room, Landlord
Cut off heat & hot water, Winter.
Summer came. Said, You haven’t paid rent
Filed lawsuit, Lost.
Threw buyouts at our feet. Said,
Lick the slits of Benjamins
Thirty years and this home?
Never yours.
Scram.
Buildings
Gutted.
Bakeries
Demolished.
Family restaurants
Vacated
For health & safety.
’Til our own people say,
Stop spitting.
That’s just how it is.
America, the Beautiful.
Meanwhile,
Rust & rubble tumble Community Mural2
Bars trump 99 Cents Stores
Wyndham Hotel topples Music Palace Theater.3
& What did we do?
We climbed floor by floor
Building by building
Hours into the night.
Pressed ears against doorways
Listened for language. Asked,
Have you eaten yet?
Do you have heat?
Do you have hot water?
Remember the winter we gathered
Outside 55 & 61 Delancey
Demanded landlord meet with us
Tell our children why aching bug bites
& Frozen-pipe seasons.
He pulled up in a taxi
Blonde wife in tow
Mink fur coats shining
Took one look & ran
Called. Said, I want to meet
But I’m scared I’m going to get killed.
We cackled
He renewed leases soon after
Repaired damages
& Finally let us be.
After: 81 Bowery
Sponge cakes & milk teas for tenant meetings
Shuffle of red plastic bags & It’s getting cold outsides
We met each other’s eyes,
We must organize!
We repaired, Renewed
Leases, Halted
Evictions, Won
Rent freezes for millions in this city.
Landlords grip railings in fear
When they see us.
Can you believe it?
Us, Aunties.
