Awkwafina Instagram – My great grandma was a seamstress on the lower east side and lived in this apartment on orchard st. She was the kind of Asian gma that only used her oven as a storage closet for toilet paper. At 6 i saw someone nodding out on heroin on her block, and asked my dad if he was sleeping. I remember thinking it was weird that my dad felt unsafe there, while my great grandma traipsed around unphased by anything. She was strong. Years later I was dragged to this “cool new” hipster-infested bar and stumbled out, only to be smack dab in front of my great grandmas building – unrecognizable in a sea of coffee bars, Whole Foods and luxury hotels. New York is always changing, but never without a constant reminder of its history. My great grandpa opened a restaurant in the Bronx, then the first chinese-American restaurant in Flushing. To see what the pandemic has done to my city, and especially it’s Chinatowns is devastating. With a rising rate of xenophobic hate crimes, and an economic standstill leading to closures of legendary New York staples that I grew up with. I owe it to my family to help struggling businesses during this time. After donating last quarters music sales to the efforts of BLM, I will be donating this quarters to the longevity fund and two other initiatives that aim to provide relief to small businesses across the boroughs. …History matters. Times are hard right now. If you’re in a position to donate to our city, please look into @welcome.to.chinatown and the amazing work they’ve been doing to help these businesses. Also the #theycantburnusall movement helmed by @chinamac – please Add more in the comments! Lower East Side