Others see more complex causes: discrimination, overcrowding, a high non-Chinese crime rate, and disagreements between the two associations ("tongs") within the community, the Hip Sing Tong and the On Leong Tong.
He started teaching in Chinatown's Hakka Association, the New York Hip Sing Tong at Pell Street.
Established in November 1893, the tong fought a violent war for control of Chinatown's rackets and businesses with the Hip Sing Tong.
The agreement, between the Chinese Merchants' Association, the On Leong Tong, the Hip Sing Tong and the Kim Lan Wui Saw, and would keep relative peace until 1924.
Gee became a member of the Hip Sing Tong society, which dealt in narcotics and liquor.
Throughout this century, the street has been the domain of the Hip Sing Tong, a business association that is said to include members with underworld links.
Lung Yu, the Vice-President of the Hip Sing Tong, was killed in a shootout at a gambling hall on 21 Pell Street.
Sai Wing Mock ("Mock Duck"), leader of the Hip Sing Tong in New York's Chinatown.
Mock Duck arrived in the United States during the late 1890s, settling in New York's Chinatown, where he formed the Hip Sing Tong, a minor criminal organization.
He first worked in a Chinatown laundry and took other menial jobs, and like thousands of young immigrants he soon joined the Hip Sing Tong.