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After what organizers thought might be its final season, one of New York's most beloved summer traditions is getting another shot.
Think!Chinatown has announced the return of its popular night market this summer, albeit under a new name and with a scaled-back format. Rebranded as Chinatown Nights, the community-focused series will take over Forsyth Plaza on June 26 and July 10 from 7:30 pm to 11:30 pm, bringing live music, local vendors, folk artists and plenty of food back to the gateway beneath the Manhattan Bridge.
The change is something of a full-circle moment: when the event first launched in 2021, it was designed as a simple outdoor gathering to support Chinatown businesses and artists during the pandemic. Over the next several years, it grew into one of the city's most popular neighborhood events, bringing more than 7,000 visitors and encouraging the city’s broader boom in food markets.
Now, organizers are intentionally shrinking things back down. According to Think!Chinatown, rising production costs and worsening conditions at Forsyth Plaza made continuing the market increasingly difficult. The organization cited issues including broken streetlights, sanitation concerns and mounting permitting challenges from multiple city agencies.
"Last summer, we thought it was our last," said Yin Kong, the executive director of Think!Chinatown. "Site conditions on Forsyth Plaza like broken street lights, discarded needles [and] remnants from unhoused settlements became increasingly challenging. Permitting and red tape from various city agencies added barriers and costs at every turn. It was too overwhelming for us to even think about taking it on again."
"Then we heard the outpour of love from our community and from our vendors," Kong said. "Despite dealing with all these challenges, we realized that we too would be sad without this summer event in Chinatown."
The result is Chinatown Nights, a leaner version of the festival that puts art and culture at the center. The June 26 program will feature performances from the New York Chinese Cultural Center, including guzheng, violin and erhu musicians performing a mix of Chinese melodies and Western classics. Throughout the evening, Chinatown Records will spin Cantonese and Mandarin pop favorites from its community music archive.
Food is still a major draw, of course: vendors include neighborhood staples Grand Tea & Imports, Yu and Me Books and Jinmen Shaokao, as well as crowd-pleasers like Phuntsok's Momo, Mr. Li Pancake and Aquaman Grill & BBQ.
In a city where beloved events often disappear as quickly as they arrive, Chinatown Nights is a great example of what happens when a neighborhood refuses to let a good thing go.