The Coalition to Protect Chinatown & the Lower East Side has been a part of organizing against the new Chinatown mega-jail since it was proposed. Recently, Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani told reporters: “Part of closing Rikers Island is following through on the contractual obligations that the city has with the construction of these new jails,” he said to reporters Sunday. “That doesn’t preclude me from meeting with New Yorkers who have immense concerns about them, but it does ensure that the focus has to be on following that law.”
The Coalition has sent Mamdani the following letter, which we will now share here:
Dear Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani,
We are the Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side, an association of community groups, elected officials, senior centers, small business, students, workers and families fighting displacement and taking control of our community. We are writing to you to express our concern about your support for building the new mega-jail in Chinatown.
The humanitarian crisis on Rikers Island won’t be resolved by building a new mega-jail in Chinatown. Worse, it would criminalize everyone in our community, as former Mayor de Blasio stigmatized immigrants and people of color by claiming the new jail would be “closer to home.” The preparation of its construction has already caused displacement of Chinatown businesses and damaged the structure of Chung Pak, the adjacent senior building.
Chinatown, Little Italy and the Lower East Side are already suffering because of the displacement of the people and small businesses that make up the fabric of our community. Building the mega-jail will only exacerbate this crisis. The only people who benefit from this mega-jail are big landlords and developers like Jonathan Chu who are glad to see our community gone. Chu displaced the beloved Jing Fong Restaurant and colluded with former Mayor de Blasio to upzone his properties for luxury high-rises. Chu’s own organization, the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), directly benefited from the mega-jail by taking $35 million from the City in exchange for providing support.
For years, our community has been vocal against the mega-jail and displacement. Our district’s Council Member Christopher Marte has stood firmly with the community against the jail. We’ve held a weekly picket line for four years in front of MOCA to call out Chu and the museum’s support for the new jail. Further, we collected over 10,000 petition signatures calling on the City to stop the new jail and pass the community-led Chinatown Working Group Plan to protect our neighborhood from displacement. We support building 100% truly affordable housing on the proposed jail site instead.
We urge you to respect our community’s voice and change your position on building the new mega-jail. Please stand with our community to stop the new jail and stop displacement!
We look forward to hearing from you and are happy to talk more.
Best,
The Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side
Tag: community
Shame! Prestigious Judge Crossed Picket Line to Join Ranks with Criminals
On Wednesday July 16, around 80 community members join the Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side’s protest to call on the Honorable Judge Denny Chin, United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit and former Judge of the Southern District of New York, to boycott the Museum of Chinese in America (MoCA). Judge Chin ignored the boycott and crossed the picket line to do an event on that evening as part of the Museum’s MoCA Talks series. By doing so, Chin ties himself to MoCA’s legacy of promoting displacement and the modern day slavery of the 24-hour workday.
MoCA is a symbol of racism, sexism, and displacement in our community. Community members have held a picket line at MoCA for the past four years. MoCA took $35 million in city money in exchange for supporting the construction of the new mega-jail in Chinatown—one that criminalizes our community. Jonathan Chu, former MoCA board co-chair, displaced our community’s beloved and iconic Jing Fong restaurant during the height of the pandemic—when small businesses needed help the most. MoCA’s current president, Michael Lee, is on the board of the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), which has stolen $90 millions in wages from Chinese immigrant women workers, forcing them into 24-hour workdays and damaging their health, families, and futures.
Inside MoCA, Judge Chin spoke about the injustices faced by immigrants in this country. Yet when asked about the protest, Chin said the protestors’ criticisms were “unreliable”, despite ample evidence of MoCA supporting the new jail and 24-hour workdays, and victims of CPC’s 24-hour workdays being part of the protest outside the museum. Siyan Wong, a workers’ rights lawyer and artist who lives in the community, called out Judge Chin’s hypocrisy. Wong is among over a dozen lawyers who wrote to Judge Chin urging him not to cross the picket line. Inside the event, Judge Chin admitted that he had received multiple letters urging him to cancel this appearance.
Wong stated: “This picket line started because the bankers, lawyers, and business owners inside this museum threw our community—and the future of our youth—under the bus. And sadly, Judge Chin chose to cross that picket line today. Judge Chin, those well-to-do bankers, lawyers, and business owners inside MoCA have adamantly refused to even speak with their immigrant community. I am deeply saddened by your decision to side with the well-to-do, with those in power—those who have taken advantage of our immigrant working poor.”
Lily Randall, a member of Youth Against Displacement, said: “Why is this judge criminalizing our working people, and protecting our community’s biggest criminals?? This is not simply an error in judgment, it’s clear that Judge Chin stands not with the people, but with the sweatshop bosses and sellouts who want to divide and destroy our community. What Denny Chin is doing is not justice – but our picket line, this community, united against displacement and exploitation, is the power that will bring us justice!”
MoCA even blocked its storefront from the inside, so that those attending the event couldn’t see the community outside. While Judge Chin spoke about discrimination and the Chinese American experience, MoCA security guards hurled threats at protesters—telling Chinese homecare workers that they should be deported, echoing rhetoric straight out of Trump’s playbook. What kind of justice is this? Certainly not justice for homecare workers demanding an end to the 24-hour workday and the people of Chinatown & the Lower East Side fighting to protect their neighborhood from displacement.
Chinatown and the Lower East united and defeated the big developers!
David once again defeats Goliath! Community members of Chinatown, Lower East Side, SoHo and other downtown areas gathered on Tuesday 9/24 with Council Member Christopher Marte to celebrate our victory against a developer’s latest attempt to build luxury high rises on the Two Bridges waterfront.
A month ago, Chetrit, the developer and owner of 265-275 Cherry Street, announced that they were in the final stages of bringing on a development partner to help finance their megatowers project, and planned to break ground within a few weeks. Our community, with Council Member Marte’s leadership, swiftly condemned Chetrit’s greed in pushing this project and their disregard for people’s lives. Three weeks later, the tide has quickly turned in the community’s favor: Chetrit, abandoned by their development partner, is backing out of the project and has defaulted on their loan. The lot now heads to the auction block.
Chetrit’s surrender is the latest victory in our community’s years-long fight against the megatowers. By organizing with Two Bridges residents, neighbors from the Lower East Side and Chinatown, as well as workers, students and small businesses who are a part of these communities, we have proven that a unified community can triumph over the greed of billionaire developers.
These two towers, each 60- to 80-story tall, were planned to be built right next to two existing buildings that provide affordable housing. If built, they would damage the structure of the buildings, threaten the health and safety of their residents and drive up real estate taxes and rents in the surrounding area. In 2017, with the support of former Council Member Margaret Chin, developers proposed to build these luxury megatowers. Chin sent a letter to residents saying they “could not stop the towers from going up” and at best they could ask for some crumbs from the developers. Since then, multiple developers have taken over the project only to abandon it, due to consistent community organizing against displacement.
Jihye Song Simpkins from Youth Against Displacement said: “This victory is extra sweet because we were told that we were going to lose. In this town that is run by real estate developers, we still won. And that shows that when our community comes together, not only can we win now, but we can win and we will win, again and again and again! And if we can do it here, we can do it anywhere else in New York City.”
Mr. Chen, a longtime Two Bridges resident said: “I’ve lived in Two Bridges for many, many years. So the developers came, they wanted to build a highrise megatower. They don’t care about the people, they only care about money. But because our community is very united, and because we have a very good City Council Member, Chris Marte, who stands with the tenants and stands with the community, we are able to fight back!”
Kathryn Freed, former District 1 Council Member, retired State Supreme Court Judge & current State Committee Member said: “This demonstrates what a community can do to fight back against the developers, even when they tell you that you can’t fight back. The truth is, you can, and what it takes is a motivated community, a coalition like this that encompasses everyone in the community, and a really good Council Member to fight for the community.”
Longtime community member Tony Queylin said: “They’ve been telling us from the beginning that this was a done deal, that we were never going to stop it, that we were never going to win. This shows right now that we still are winning. We can’t give up, we have to stay together, stay cohesive…we need to stick to the plan, The Chinatown Working Group Plan, we need to pass that, and get everybody to stay focused and get involved. Same with saving Elizabeth Street Garden, we need to stay vigilant with the city trying to take things away from us. It’s people like Chris who are fighting for our neighborhood…If you’re not involved, get involved, because we need you.”
District Leader Vittoria Fariello, representing the Downtown Independent Democrats said: “I’m so thrilled to be here with you to celebrate this win for the community, not just because the towers are not going up, but because everybody told us they were going to. And we are here today to show them that the tide has turned. By coming together, by fighting together, by being united, our communities can make their voices heard…DID supports the Chinatown Working Group Plan, an amazing plan that is from the people who know not just what the community needs, but what is possible.”
Marion Reidel from the Grand Street Democrats said: “The Grand Street Dems have supported this effort from the beginning, we support the Chinatown Working Group Plan, we believe that our neighborhood is not for sale…we do need housing, we need affordable housing, not more luxury condos. Thank you Chris for all your leadership and thank you all for your participation!”
Council Member Chris Marte said: “Today is a testament to the will of the people…It’s a major win for our neighborhood, for our city, because soon enough, we’re going to see other communities come to us and say ‘how did they do that in Two Bridges, in the Lower East Side? How did this community take on some of the biggest developers in NYC and probably the world, and win?’ There’s still a lot of work to be done, we have to pass the Chinatown Working Group Plan…but when people on the street say this is just the way it is, there’s nothing we can do, you’re going to say: however, in Two Bridges, we took on developers & won!”
In celebrating this victory, community members call on the City to pass the Chinatown Working Group Rezoning Plan, which would stop luxury high rises in Chinatown and the Lower East Side by capping the height of new developments and mandating truly affordable housing.
Our community sends a clear message to any big developers threatening to take over our neighborhoods: do not build luxury towers that destroy people’s lives, or else you will encounter our united opposition and lose.
peoplefirstnyc.org 