My Grandmother's Story: From China to Bensonhurst

On October 1, 1949, China came under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) following its victory in the Chinese Civil War against the Nationalist Party. The CCP remains in power today, marking over seven decades of continuous rule, and it is the sole governing political party in China. The CCP describes itself as the “vanguard of the Chinese working class, the Chinese people, and the Chinese nation.”^¹ It has characterized China’s development as being in the “primary stage of socialism,” meaning that while public ownership remains dominant in key sectors such as banking, energy, and transportation, it coexists with private ownership to promote economic growth. As such, China’s system is not fully communist, and includes both a significant private sector and a strong presence of individual enterprise, as well as considerable space for market forces. While China is a one-party state, which does place limits on certain political freedoms, this alone does not make it a fully communist country in the classical sense.^¹ Overall, the CCP states that it has established a basic socialist system while continuing to develop socialist-oriented economic, political, and cultural institutions. This approach is referred to as “socialism with Chinese characteristics,” with the Party maintaining that its highest ideal and ultimate goal is the realization of full communism.

My grandmother, Meng Huang, was born in Honshen Village, and during her childhood, her family lived through a period of war and devastation that shaped much of her early life. She later moved to Tianjian Village after marrying my grandfather, Xu Zhang. Her life was defined by constant labor and scarcity. She worked long days farming and performing physically demanding tasks, such as lifting dirt, yet earned only about $0.05 a day. Even with that effort, it was never enough; every day was simply about survival. Electricity did not exist in the village, and my grandparents and their children relied on a few fire-wash lamps each month. Farming provided just enough food to put something on the table, but rarely enough to sell. At times, they could not even afford to raise chickens or pigs because there was not enough food to feed them.

In 1953, China implemented a formal urban rationing system that lasted until 1993. At its peak, the system covered not only food but also major consumer goods such as textiles, bicycles, fuel, soap, and sewing machines. This distribution system favored urban populations, particularly during the Great Leap Forward (1958–1962), a campaign aimed at rapidly industrializing China and addressing imbalances between rural and urban areas. As a result, urban residents received higher rations than those living in the countryside, leaving rural populations with severe shortages. This imbalance contributed to the Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961), one of the deadliest in history, during which an estimated 30 million people died of starvation.

As scholars have noted, the Chinese government under Mao Zedong attempted to accelerate industrialization through collective farming and backyard steel production, which diverted labor away from essential agricultural work. Grain production declined sharply, and much of the available food was redirected, worsening the crisis. At the same time, state-controlled media reported inflated agricultural successes, creating a disconnect between the reality of widespread hunger and the government’s narrative.

My grandmother recalled that material conditions were just as harsh. Clothing was worn down to holes, and there was no fabric available to repair it. Basic goods required ration tickets, and even those were difficult to obtain. Fabric, for example, required a large amount of rice in exchange. She explained that even if an entire family pooled their ration tickets together, it still would not equal a single piece of factory-made clothing.

She and her family worked tirelessly to make ends meet. My grandfather, who was born in Malaysia and moved to China at the age of twelve, was educated in both Chinese and English. He worked as a teacher for about ten years, earning only $17 a month at first and later $50 to $60 near retirement in the 1960s and 1970s. To support the family, he also worked as a tailor. Community connections helped sustain them; my grandmother was introduced to work through a mutual contact at a school, where she also helped care for a child.

Despite all their efforts, life remained extremely difficult. My grandmother often reflected that if life in China had been better, she would never have left. Like many immigrants, the decision to move was driven by necessity, a gamble in hopes of a better life for her family. In "Where Chinese Yearn for 'Beautiful' U.S.," a 1993 New York Times article, a man living in Xiamen, Chen, reflects on how “he has heard a rumor that [a migrant boat] made it to the United States and now have good jobs, but he does not know if it is true. These rumors take on a life of their own, and they help feed the desperation to leave.”^¹ When she finally arrived in America, she felt a deep sense of relief and happiness. For the first time, she had a job that provided a stable income—something that had been out of reach for much of her life.

My grandparents first arrived in the United States, specifically New York City, in February 1995. They were able to immigrate from China through the sponsorship of one of my aunts, who had moved to the U.S. and married an American citizen. Around this time, President George H. W. Bush signed the Immigration Act of 1990, which significantly reformed U.S. immigration policy.^¹ The law maintained family reunification as a central principle and allocated a large portion of visas to family-based categories, with roughly 480,000 slots available annually for family-sponsored preferences. Family reunification is the policy principle that allows U.S. citizens and green card holders to sponsor immigration for immediate family members. 

This was a common pathway, as many people moved to the U.S. in hopes of finding work and earning enough money to support their families back home. The Immigration Act of 1990 also made it possible for their immediate family members to join them and pursue a better life together. In one personal narrative, it was noted that most Chinese immigrants living in Brooklyn arrived through the sponsorship of a close relative already in the United States, whether a parent or grandparent, a son or daughter, or, less often, an aunt or uncle. In my grandparents’ case, it was their daughter who helped bring them to Brooklyn's Bensonhurst neighborhood.^¹

Before the City: Bensonhurst as Farmland

Bensonhurst has not always been the neighborhood we know today. It has undergone significant development and demographic transformation since its early origins in the 1660s, when it was settled by the Dutch as part of the town of New Utrecht. For much of its early history, the area consisted of farmland, characterized by fertile soil and crops such as corn, potatoes, and orchard produce. In the 1870s, the population of Bensonhurst and its surrounding areas began to grow rapidly following the construction of steam railroads. This expansion connected the once-isolated rural community to urban centers such as Manhattan, facilitating residential and commercial development.^¹ 

In the 1880s, real estate developer James D. Lynch began purchasing farmland from the Benson family, who were initially reluctant and resisted his offers for years. However, they eventually agreed to sell the land on the condition that Lynch would not destroy the Benson house, known as Bensonhurst, and that the new development would be named after the family.^¹ Lynch intended to transform the area into a suburban enclave.^¹ This development, named Bensonhurst-by-the-Sea, included present-day Bath Beach and was designed to attract affluent residents seeking respite from the congestion of Manhattan. Lynch constructed approximately 1,000 high-end villas and planted 5,000 shade trees to create landscaped, tree-lined avenues.^¹

By 1885, the construction of the Brooklyn, Bath, and West End Railroad further accelerated population growth.^¹ After Bensonhurst was annexed to the City of Brooklyn in 1894, it transitioned from a gated, suburban enclave of large homes to a more densely built neighborhood characterized by attached brick row houses.

A major turning point came in 1915 with the extension of the Fourth Avenue Subway line (now served by the N and R trains), which made commuting from Manhattan—particularly the Lower East Side—more accessible. This development prompted a wave of working-class Jewish and Italian immigrants seeking affordable housing and relief from overcrowded tenements. As a result, Bensonhurst shed its identity as an exclusive seaside retreat and evolved into a working-class residential neighborhood.^¹

Postwar Immigration and the Formation of an Italian Bensonhurst

During the 1940s and 1950s, the neighborhood experienced a substantial influx of Italian immigrants, particularly from Sicily and southern Italy. Many arrived in search of economic opportunity, fleeing harsh labor conditions in their home regions.^¹ In 1955, the Protestant Council of the City of New York conducted a community study of four communities in Southwest Brooklyn, one of which included Bensonhurst. The study accounted for the nationalities of foreign-born residents and found that in both the 1940s and 1950s, there were no Asians present, but there was a large Italian population. 

By the 1980s, Bensonhurst had become a predominantly Italian American neighborhood, with estimates suggesting that approximately 80 to 93 percent of residents identified as Italian American.^¹ This demographic concentration was shaped in part by post–World War II immigration patterns and the GI Bill, which expanded access to education, homeownership, and economic mobility for veterans.^¹ According to the 1980 census, the neighborhood was 93.4 percent white, with only 2 percent Asian American residents.^¹

A significant demographic shift in Bensonhurst began in the late 1980s and early 1990s and accelerated between 2000 and 2010, as Bensonhurst experienced a growing influx of Asian immigrants, particularly from China and Cantonese-speaking regions. My grandparents resided in Bensonhurst in 1995 for a little over a decade, and my grandma recalls that there were very few Chinese supermarkets and far fewer Chinese residents at the time. She mentioned that she would travel to 8th Avenue to buy Chinese groceries and rarely shopped at other ethnic stores because of her limited English proficiency and demanding work schedule. The New York City Department of City Planning describes this transformation as follows:

“White declines were large in these areas … [while] the Asian population increased by 58 and 57 percent in Bensonhurst East and West, respectively. Growth in the Chinese population accounted for the bulk of Asian increases. Over 17,000 Chinese residents were added to the two Bensonhurst neighborhoods over the decade. In 2000, whites were in the majority; however, by 2010, this was no longer the case, with Asians making up over one-third of the population.” ^¹

Additional evidence of this shift is reflected in local institutions. The director of the AMICO Senior Citizen Center, Dr. Pastore, noted that while the center’s membership was predominantly Italian American in 1973, by the 2000s, the proportion of Asian members had steadily increased, reaching 47 percent by 2017. According to the New York City Department of Small Business Services’ 2023 neighborhood assessment, Bensonhurst’s population is now 41 percent White, 38 percent Asian, 17 percent Hispanic/Latinx, 3 percent multiracial, and 1 percent African American. The report also notes that the Asian population has increased by 57 percent in recent decades and includes the city’s largest concentration of immigrants from Hong Kong, as well as the second-largest Cantonese-speaking population.^¹

This demographic shift may have been driven in part by overcrowding and rising housing costs in Sunset Park, prompting many Cantonese immigrants to relocate to Bensonhurst. Although the neighborhood has deep Italian American roots, that presence has declined as populations shifted. Today, Bensonhurst is widely recognized as an emerging “Chinatown,” reflecting its transformation into one of the fastest-growing Cantonese-speaking residential areas in New York City. The neighborhood’s commercial landscape reflects this change, with numerous Chinese-owned businesses alongside national retail chains. Storefront signage and advertisements are frequently written in Chinese, and even major chains such as Popeyes display Chinese-language signage, underscoring the strong cultural influence of the Chinese community.

My grandmother was ecstatic to arrive in the U.S., but not because it was a place where people dreamed of making fortunes or moving up the social ladder. Rather, she felt that life would be less difficult and physically demanding than what she had experienced before. She believed she would be able to provide for her family without constantly straining her body for wages that did not reflect her labor.

To support themselves while living in Bensonhurst, my grandparents worked in multiple small garment manufacturing shops, which were very common at the time. In the beginning, they searched for jobs by walking from factory to factory, as that was the only method they knew. Their opportunities were limited because they did not speak English, had little to no formal education, and did not have an established network, so they had to rely on themselves and accept whatever work was available. She recalls that there were many Chinese garment factories under the 70th Street subway station, though they have since closed. At the time, many men and women had only two main options: working in garment factories or in restaurants. As she described it, garment work was a very desirable job for legal immigrants who did not speak English.^¹

Many of the smaller garment factories where my grandparents worked were Chinese-owned and often took advantage of immigrant workers through long, grueling hours and low pay, conditions that were almost equivalent to a sweatshop. In place of their former rural lifestyle in China, my grandparents adopted a new daily routine that was equally physically demanding. My grandmother recalled a typical morning of waking up around 5:00 a.m. to walk to work. Some shifts ran late into the night, occasionally lasting until 11:00 p.m. or even midnight during busy periods. The only break in the long day was a short 30-minute lunch in the afternoon. Many workers endured these hardships because they saw them as a necessary cost of making a living.

In a personal narrative interview, she also spoke about her mother’s experience working in factories and the treatment workers faced. Her mother described it this way: “If you are working for somebody, you have to listen to them. You have to take what they give you. If they yell at you, you stay quiet and you accept it.”^¹ This mindset was common, as many believed such treatment was simply part of life and employment. My grandmother expressed a similar perspective about working conditions in China: those with more money and power dictated the terms, and workers felt they had no choice but to accept them, often because they believed they had no other options.

Work schedules could also change depending on demand. On Fridays, managers would inform workers whether they needed to come in over the weekend. Saturdays were considered overtime, and rice was sometimes provided; however, most workers still brought their own side dishes, such as meat or vegetables. This reflected a broader pattern in factory life after 1981.

In another personal narrative interview, a factory worker recalled that “as there are now too many garment factories, the boss wants to have more workers. If one boss provides rice and others do not, workers will be attracted. It is also more troublesome to buy lunch outside the factory. Plus, rice is not expensive in America. Thus, it is more convenient because you don’t have to go out at lunchtime. Moreover, you save time, and this is good for the employer. Workers will not go out wandering around and thus delay the speed of work.”^¹

However, my grandmother noted that her pay was relatively good for the time. High-demand tasks, such as sewing zippers, could earn around $100, while typical daily earnings were about $40 to $50. My grandparents were not big spenders. They did not travel or buy items frequently, focusing only on necessities like food and other household goods. They also never bought new clothes. Instead, they sewed their own, as this had been considered a luxury in rural China. They were surprised to see factories discarding usable fabric at the end of the day. They would collect these materials and use them to make their own clothing, some of which, she said, are still worn today. As a result, they were able to save a significant amount of money.

My grandparents’ experiences in the garment industry in the late 20th century represent just one of many immigrant stories about building a life in New York City and establishing a new sense of home.

The garment industry in New York City has been marked by unsafe labor conditions and exploitation since as early as 1828, expanding rapidly by 1858. Its growth outpaced nearly every other industry, driven in large part by the invention of the sewing machine.^¹ Major garment industry strikes, particularly in the US during the 20th century, were pivotal in establishing labor rights, including safe conditions, better wages, and shorter hours. To learn more about labor struggles in non-garment work industries, please read "Labor Struggles and Youth Solidarity in 1990s Chinatown" by fellow Youth Researcher Brian Chen, found here. 

Late 19th–Early 20th Century: Early Chinese Immigrant Garment Labor

In the 1850s, many Chinese immigrants in NYC took on informal and low-wage labor such as factory work in the garment industry. These were typically small-scale Chinatown-based garment production that were hidden and precarious due to racial exclusion and lack of enforcement of legal protections.^¹

1920s–1940s: Rise of Chinatown Garment Workshops 

As Chinese communities grew in Lower Manhattan, small garment workshops began operating within Chinatown. These were often family-run or co-ethnic networks producing clothing subcontracted from larger manufacturers. Workers frequently labored in crowded, tenement-based factories under unsafe conditions. Factories were often small and located in basements or upper floors of buildings.^¹ Many of these workers were Chinese women with little to no English proficiency and limited opportunities to learn the language, which made it difficult for them to advocate for themselves regarding workplace safety, benefits, or higher wages. Many factory owners took advantage of these language and cultural barriers to pay extremely low wages—sometimes as little as $0.50 per garment—and often overlooked serious injuries such as hand wounds and punctures from sewing machines.^¹

1970s–1980s: Chinatown Sweatshop Economy

In the 1970s, unionization expanded among New York’s growing immigrant workforce, and by 1981, an estimated 85% of NYC garment workers were women. Chinatown emerged as a major center of garment production. As one account notes, “The International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU), which had once represented predominantly Jewish and Italian workers, came to include large numbers of Chinese and Latina women who refused to endure workplace exploitation.”^¹ At the same time, the Chinatown-based Local 23–25 grew into the ILGWU’s largest affiliate, empowering Chinese garment workers to negotiate for better conditions.

1982: Garment Workers' Strike

On June 24, 1982, a historic strike took place that was not spontaneous but strategic, driven by a deep commitment to liberating and uplifting communities, advocating for racial and cultural equity, and advancing labor justice. It was the largest strike in the history of NYC’s Chinatown, with over 20,000 Chinese immigrant garment workers—predominantly women—marching in the streets in defiance of employers who attempted to cut their union benefits. This mass mobilization was a response to proposed reductions in the ILGWU Local 23–25 contract. For more on the famous 1982 Chinatown Garment Workers' Strike, please read fellow Youth Researcher Clarissa Kunizaki's exhibit, found here. The strike was successful in many ways: it challenged stereotypes of Asian women as passive laborers, secured higher wages, ensured the retention of health benefits, and strengthened union leadership within the community.

1990s–2000s: Decline of the Garment Industry

There were many factors that contributed to the steady decline of the garment industry, including changes in immigration patterns and the effects of 9/11. Because much of the industry relied on Chinese immigrant labor, shifts in migration had a significant impact. A newer wave of immigrants tended to be younger and more interested in pursuing a wider range of job opportunities, rather than work that involved long hours and low pay. As a result, factory owners struggled to replace retiring workers. At the same time, textile production increasingly moved overseas—to China, Southeast Asia, and South Asia—where labor and production costs were lower. This offshoring further accelerated the decline of local garment factories.^¹ “Globalization was already affecting shops in the neighborhood, but after 9/11 there was a 60% decline in production.”^¹ 

One of the primary causes of the industry’s decline was 9/11.^¹ Because many factories were located in Chinatown, with smaller subcontracting shops in areas like South Brooklyn, transportation shutdowns made it difficult for workers to commute and forced many businesses to close temporarily—some permanently. The garment industry itself was decimated. Chinatown's 430 garment shops, many of them unionized, shrunk to fewer than 10, with only one union shop remaining.^¹ As historian Margaret Chin noted in an interview, “Only specialty sewers remain, such as those who make costumes or high-end clothing.”^¹ Despite this decline, many Asian immigrant workers, particularly Chinese workers, continue to work in small-scale sewing shops or alterations businesses.

Some NYC Textile & Alteration Chinese Businesses to Support:

📍 Ms. Chen Expert Tailoring

88 E Broadway, Basement Level B42, New York, NY 10002

📍 LNC Tailor & Bespoke Shop, est. 1981

199 Canal St # 204, New York, NY 10013

My grandparents stayed in the garment industry for about seven to eight years, stopping around 2002 when my cousins were born and needed care. My grandfather stayed home to take care of them while my grandmother continued working. This transition also coincided with the aftermath of 9/11, which had a significant impact on the economy. Many businesses closed for weeks, and much of the garment manufacturing industry moved overseas because it was cheaper to produce goods abroad. Over time, both of my grandparents gradually stopped working. Instead of long hours in the factory, my grandma recalled how they would spend their days taking long walks with my grandfather and their grandchildren along the Shore Parkway Greenway.

Telling this history is deeply important on a number of levels, both on a personal level and from a broader historical perspective. Examining the life of my grandmother helps to highlight the historically complex process of immigration and the impact immigrants have had on many aspects of life. Immigration has shaped the cultural, economic, and social development of communities throughout history. It also emphasizes how immigrants have been, and continue to be, essential to many industries and everyday systems that society depends on. Learning about immigration history allows students to better understand the interconnectedness of communities and the ongoing role immigrants play in shaping society.

As a pre-service art teacher, I would integrate this into a classroom setting by exploring the transformation of an area or industry that is or was heavily influenced by immigrants. Students could research the historical and cultural impact of immigrant communities within a specific neighborhood, workplace, or industry and visually map these changes through collage, drawing, and digital media. Through combining historical research with art-making, students would examine themes of identity, labor, community, and cultural exchange, and also develop their skills in mixed-media storytelling and visual composition. This project would encourage students to reflect on how immigration shapes both local communities and their own everyday experiences.