Legendary arcade, The Chinatown Fair, closed its doors two months ago, unable to pay the neighborhood's rising rent and thus ending its 50-plus year run as Manhattan's mecca for gamers. And although it reopened under a different name in Brooklyn, its departure from 8 Mott Street in Chinatown was collectively hailed as the end of arcades in New York.
But before they dismantled the Street Fighter machines, filmmaker Kurt Vincent spent some time in the famous video-game haven, documenting a tightly-knit group of New Yorkers who had come to call The "CF" their home away from home.
A new trailer for "Arcade: The Last Night At Chinatown Fair", released in support of Vincent's Kickstarter project to finish the film, shows a packed, vibrant arcade scene on its final night of operation. Interviews include one woman-gamer saying,"The black guy that just walked away with the Harlem shirt? That's my husband. I met him here 10 years ago," and another man standing outside noting, "This is the only place these people can come to and hang out and feel like they don't have to deal with bull shit."
It's a good glimpse of a devoted New York subculture at a vanished city landmark:
Via Bowery Boogie