Letter Writing Party
One of the hardest things around having fruitful discussions with the city is the ability to capture the nuance of the situation. When we say stop the jail, it doesn't mean stop criminal justice reform or stop recognizing Rikers is a problem. When we say no to the homeless shelters, we aren't saying no to helping the homeless.
To be able to do this requires getting educated and learning how to use the right language. Come join me in a letter writing party this Weds at 8pm where we'll cover some background and share why we're invested in this fight. We'll also provide guidance, letter templates, and contacts to aid with this fight. Plus, we'll have some tunes. There's power in being together and knowing we're not alone.
Thanks for co-hosting The Creative Sanctum!
#StopTheMegaJail #StopAsianHate #SaveChinatown #enoughisenough #standwithchinatown #protectchinatown #nycchinatown
No to 10 shelters in Chinatown Rally at City Hall Park
We need you to show up April 6, 4pm and show #thisiswhatcommunitylookslike, to #InvestInPeople
SIX IS ENOUGH, stop shelter oversaturation in the neighborhood boundaries of Chinatown.
Stop the siting of a shelter at 231 Grand Street. It is a major throughway of Chinatown and Little Italy, and with SIX shelters already active and a plan of FOUR more, our communities' have shouldered our fair share of the wider City's unsheltered population issue.
Our businesses rely heavily on tourism and is a destination spot for all New Yorkers. Instead of sharing our history and continuing stories of our cultural vibrancy, the reality, if Mayor Adams doesn't change this course, is we will be known as a shelter town and a place where they have that mega jail that is as tall as the Statue of Liberty.
While sign up is not required, it helps the Alliance for Community Preservation and Betterment keep track of attendees.
Contribute to Chinatown Downtown Revitalization Initiative
Have your say in the $20 Million funding earmarked for Chinatown through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative! Think!Chinatown has been working hard with the DRI to collect insight from our communities and reach a shared vision for the future of Chinatown. We see arts & culture as a focal point for lasting community investment to build a stronger and resilient ecosystem. For decades, we have dreamed of a cultural center for Chinatown to support our community of Cantonese and Min Opera groups, traditional and contemporary dance, and other traditional arts practices that make Chinatown so unique. We see the need to make visible all these rich cultural practices that are mostly unseen because of their lack of adequate space to rehearse or perform. We also see the potential of the next generation of Asian Americans connecting to Chinatown with a stronger understanding of roots and heritage. What do you see?
Your opinions are essential in guiding the eventual selection of projects and investment goals to support Chinatown. This event is open for the public to express their concerns, needs, and aspirations for the Chinatown DRI.
There will be in person and Zoom facilitation available in English, Mandarin/Cantonese, and Spanish. The in person event will be indoors so remember to wear your masks! 😷
Register for the event at https://www.chinatowndri.com/ You can also fill out a survey anytime before April 8th to offer your input on the challenges Chinatown faces as well as what goals you believe are important for its revitalization. ✍🏻
🔸The Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) is a cornerstone of the State’s economic development program that transforms downtown neighborhoods into vibrant centers that offer a high quality of life and are magnets for redevelopment, business, job creation, and economic and housing diversity.
#thinkchinatown #chinatownnyc #supportchinatown #onlineevent #inpersonevent #chinatownDRI #offerfeedback #buildcommunity #chinatownnycsurvey
Community Board 2 Meeting
Full Board Meeting
Jeannine Kiely, Chair
Written testimony and/or virtual speaker cards can be submitted by email before 5:00 p.m. March 24, 2022 to speakerscard@cb2manhattan.org. [Please note that registering for the Zoom meeting does not register you to speak.] Please submit your name, agenda topic, and address. Public speakers will be limited to 2 minutes or less at the discretion of the Chair. We recommend submitting written testimony, which will be summarized at the meeting, to ensure an opportunity for your voice to be recognized.
We strongly encourage the public to attend virtually by registering here:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IK3_Po1QScGHeucaMIdO6A
However, if you would like to attend in-person, you must wear a mask over your mouth and nose during the entire meeting and register in advance here: https://cb2_mar22fb.eventbrite.com
(In-person location TBD)
Rally and Press Conference against the Shelters
Come to the rally and press conference against the 231 Grand St Shelter:
Will operate 24/7 with no curfew
Unrestricted drug use on premise
Level 1 & Level 2 sex offenders permitted
Located within 1000 feet from daycares and schools
CCBA will be hosting a live conference of the CB2 full board meeting where members of the community will be testifying against the proposed shelter.
Stop The Chinatown Mega Jail March
The City of New York is planning to demolish an existing jail to build the WORLD’S TALLEST JAIL in the heart of Chinatown.
The community has been protesting the detrimental environmental, economic, and human impact of this plan since 2019 and this is our LAST CHANCE to change the mayor’s mind.
The estimated budget for the Manhattan project is $2.3 billion. When we choose to invest in jails, not people, it is institutionalized racism for people of color, especially low income communities of color.
Demolition on Manhattan Detention Center to start the construction of the jail is imminent. If demolished, there are serious documented concerns about pollutants and environmental impacts that are unmitigable brought on by this 5-7 year construction project. Particularly troubling are the impacts to our most vulnerable populations of elders, immigrants, and low income populations.
Join NUBC as we build a coalition of local community partners and stakeholders at an in person rally and protest at 1PM on Sunday, March 20 at Columbus Park.
The goal of this rally is to:
Show our strength in numbers to send local politicians the message that will unite to fight against harm in our communities.
Save Manhattan's Chinatown, one of the last authentic Chinatowns in the country, from being further erased
Remind Mayor Adams he acknowledged the institutional harm promised NO MORE JAILS on the campaign trail
Call for an end to mass incarceration by investing in people and communities
Stop the Chinatown Mega Jail March
We last marched with over 1000 people in rally against the jails back in 2019. We’re looking to surpass this number this time around.
Organized by: Neighbors United Below Canal
1 Year Memorial Atlanta Spa Shootings: Elevating AAPI Women's Voices
Join us as we provide space to uplift and elevate AAPI women & femme voices on the Saturday preceding the 1 year anniversary of the Atlanta Spa Shootings.
Our event is centered around community voices, so we encourage local individuals, especially AAPI Women & Femmes, to apply to participate. More details on the RSVP page.
Organized by: Asians Fighting Injustice
231 Grand Street Contract Public Hearing
The city is having a public hearing on the contracts for the proposed 231 Grand Street homeless shelter. This will cover the proposed $63.8M contract between the Department of Homeless Services and Housing Works Inc. covering 5 years for the provision of the Drop-In Facility and Stabilization Beds.
Make sure your voice is heard by joining the Conference Call on March 10th, 10am. Call in 646.992.2010 using Access Code 715 951 129.
Prayer Vigil for Our Sisters
Prayer Vigil at Sara D Roosevelt Park — All faiths and backgrounds are invited and welcomed
Stand in Silent Solidarity with Chinatown
The battle to fight the jail in Chinatown is a 30+ year old fight but this time the stakes are even higher. The city is looking to build the world's tallest jail and what's likely to be the tallest building in Chinatown in a neighborhood made up of low to mid-rises. We're asking people to stand with us through silent protest. This is not just a Chinatown issue but an issue more broadly where people of color are left unheard.
Senator Schumer, Governor Hochul, and Mayor Adams along with other politicians will be speaking from a podium on Mott & Hester St some time between 12-1pm while at the Lunar New Year parade. They will march south towards Bowery St from there. We want BIG VISIBLE signs at both the starting location and all throughout the parade route. There will be media coverage. Let's use this opportunity without being disruptive to the Lunar New Year Parade to show the mayor how powerful we are when we are organized and united. It is of utmost importance to show hospitality to our politician guests. This is the basis of collaboration. We listen you, you listen to us, and we get some work done.
Preparation for demolition is already underway, with dismantlement in two weeks! While Chinatown shows its resiliency by surviving the impact of 9/11 on lower Manhattan, the pandemic continues to pose another threat. Local restaurants and business are fighting to survive. Building this jail hampers its road to recovery as the five year process of dismantlement, demolition, and construction will diminish quality of life. There will be sustained disruptions, air and noise pollution, vibrations and rumbling, and traffic closures for the duration of the project. Come join us in unity for this last stand by supporting Chinatown, its culture, history, and future!
Why protest in silence?
Silent non-violence is powerful when coordinated and organized.
The Annual Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade is a cultural celebration who's importance is not to be diminished. We want more people to come and enjoy Chinatown in a pleasant way. Chinatown is already hurting and it needs you to support the local restaurants and businesses! Watch the parade, let the signs do the talking, and please be a patron by buying something before you leave.
To stand with people of color and communities that have been silenced
To show as a city, the lack of transparency in building this jail will not be tolerated. The solution to closing Rikers should be done together instead of the way it has been done so far. This ends now and we stand together.
Our friends at the NUBC (https://www.nubcnyc.com) have made custom banners for people to hold. Banners can be picked up at 11:30am at 2 Mott St (Citibank) and 62 Mott St (Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association).
Our friends at Welcome to Chinatown also have a Google sign up (https://bit.ly/3LNaWgm) as the way to track volunteers willing to distribute and hang up posters. They're looking for two separate times between 10-1PM and 1-4PM. Please sign up by the evening and they will contact you with additional details!
Let's make us heard. We want to mount public pressure to stop the jail. We want droves of people to show up. Let me know if I can count you in.
Other resources:
https://www.welcometochinatown.com/news/stop-the-jail
https://www.nubcnyc.com/plans-whitest
Stop The Jail Rally
Come rally together and fight the new jail. We want to hold Mayor Adams accountable to his campaign promise of small jails not big ones like the one that’s being built.
Become A Volunteer
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