Playwright and storyteller Alvin Eng grew up with five siblings in a house near the family business, Foo J. Chin Chinese Hand Wash in Flushing, Queens. Sunday, the only day the laundromat was closed, was a big deal, as he recounts in his new memoir, “Our Laundry, Our Town: My Chinese American American Life From Flushing to Downtown Stage and beyond.”
“My parents would take us across three boroughs and two bridges to the bustling Chinatown in the ‘city,’ because kids born and raised in the suburbs always called us Manhattan,” though he would rather stay in Queens, playing handball with friends in his predominantly Jewish neighborhood, he said.
Today, Mr. Eng, 60, lives in TriBeCa with his wife, Wendy Wasdahl, a theater director, playwright and actress who also teaches tai chi in senior centers. But Chinatown is “in the city” nearby, so they can often be found there, including at 3pm this Sunday, when Mr. Eng will read from his memoirs at 21 Pell Streetone of his favorite cultural centers in the vicinity.
MUSIC CLEANSE I get up around 8:30. We lingered a little in bed, and then I played two songs, “Sunday morning” by Velvet Underground and “Anthem” by Leonard Cohen. It’s almost like a mental palate cleanse; During the week, we turn on NPR. Then we started to prepare breakfast. I am the main chef. Our ritual is smoked salmon with Tofutti spread, capers, onions, tomatoes and some arugula on gluten-free bagels or wholegrain pumpkin bread. We listen NPR’s “Weekend Edition” while we were putting it together. Then when we sat down, we watched “The Sunday Show” with Jonathan Capehart on MSNBC. What a lovely, engaging host he is. And he doesn’t back down from his questions.
BACK TO THE FUTURE We walked up Worth Street to Chinatown. For me, the present, the past and the future resonate vividly and introspectively in these walks. What I love about Chinatown now, compared to when I was a kid, is that there’s so much art and culture mixed in with all the great restaurants and grocery stores. Have Think! Chinatown and 21 Pell Street Community Center. Both have performances and workshops and other events. I performed at the age of 21, this is actually a historic Chinese Baptist church that is still in operation. When my musical friends came to town, we were packed there. We play our own songs and ’70s glam/punk covers, from Lou Reed to Mott the Hoople and New York Dolls.
PAGING MR. PROFESSIONALLY On Mulberry is Books by Yu and I, located on the new side and is the only Asian-American woman-owned bookstore in New York City. It’s modern and trendy and a great addition to the neighborhood. A few doors down there was a huge funeral chamber, Ng Fook Funeral Service. Both my parents held funerals there. When the weather’s fine, we might have some work to do Delicious dumplings next to it, then choose some hamantaschen (Jewish triangle biscuits) from Tria Diner get out of Chatham Square and walk to Town Hall Park, our favorite park. The combination of hamantaschen and dumplings is symbolic of my childhood. I grew up in a very Jewish part of Flushing. After we finished eating, we would linger in City Hall Park to read The Sunday Times, people-watch and dream.
UNFORGOTTEN Sometimes we walk further up the city. I also have a lot of fond memories of the East Village. Some of my first performances there, at Nuyorican Poets Cafe and PS 122 (now called New York Performance Space). It’s good to go anywhere we can see the Statue of Liberty. The role immigrants play in the city is very much on my mind when I’m in all these neighborhoods, especially when I think about my parents. Something about a Sunday makes you think about all of this a little more thoroughly.
FOOD FOR THINKING On Sunday nights, we could be at home and have what we call a hodgepodge-enhanced leftover dinner. That’s whatever was left over from the week or day before, plus whatever we picked up during the day, like collard greens or red cabbage from Chinatown or something from the Ukrainian National House, now called Eastern Ukrainian Village Restaurant. As a writer, activist and teacher – I teach in the theater arts department at Marymount Manhattan College and Borough of Manhattan Community College – I love making different parts work, whether it’s components, people or views.
ALWAYS A LOT OF MORE JOBS After dinner, I started checking emails and preparing lesson plans for the week. We usually show DVR Al Sharpton, “National politics.” We’ll keep an eye on that as we’re working on the issue. And we always make time to read. I just finished a wonderful book of essays called “The Aunt Sewing Team’s guide to mask-making, radical care, and racial equity. “ However, I go to bed around 10 or 11 o’clock. There is always more work to do. There’s always plenty to think about and catch up on.
Sunday Routine readers urged to follow Alvin Eng on Twitter @AlvinEng8 or Instagram @alvin.eng8.
