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Columbia University Urban Planning Studio
Midterm Presentation
(Preliminary Summary and Analysis of Opportunities & Challenges)
Monday, March 31, 2003
Summary of Notes
Attendance of Community Representatives:
Alex Chu, Eastbank
Eddy Eng, Director of BID Operations, NYC Dept. of Small Business
Services
Peter Cheng, Indochina Sino-American Community Center
Narisara Vanichanan, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
Marnie McGregor, NYIRN
H.T. Chen, H.T. Chen and Dancers
Frank Lang, AAFE
Drew Kiriazides, AAFE
Robert Weber, AAFE
Jennifer Sun, AAFE
Ken Bowers, PPSA
Chinatown's Strengths:
Economic Diversity: manufacturing, banking, wholesale
Immigrant Community
Densely-Populated
Live-Work Neighborhood
Accessible Location
Sense of Place
Chinatown's Challenges:
Rising real estate prices
Changing employment base
Inadequate Housing
Lack of Open Space
Pedestrian Congestion
Sanitation
Political Disempowerment
Study Area Definition (same as the area defined by AAFNY):
Broadway (west)
Norfolk and Montgomery (east)
Spring and Rivington (north)
Worth Street and South Street (south)
75-100% of Asians in census tracts, based on 2000 Census
Tracts with concentrations of garment factories
Land Use Survey
Data Sources: RPAD + AAFE Land Use Survey
Spot-checked approximately 400 lots that had discrepancies, missing
data, etc.
Maps Generated:
Land Use Map,
Entire Building Land Use Map,
Ground Floor Land Use Map,
Upper Flours Commercial,
Residential and Manufacturing Zones
32.5% of lots surveyed = soft sites
1.6% of lots surveyed = vacant buildings
0.7% of lots surveyed = vacant land
0.3% of lots surveyed = buildings under construction
Economic Development:
Erosion of garment, printing and wholesale due to real estate pressures
G zone does not prevent conversion of manufacturing into commercial
uses.
Transportation:
Regional perspective: inadequacies of Canal Street Based on one-day
traffic count, 40% of two-way traffic along Canal was commercial;
Inadequate Sidewalks Lack of Parking Access Problems from neighboring
communities Brooklyn Bridge is a wasted opportunity for stronger
connection.
Housing:
Old housing stock: over 90% build before 1920
Internal conditions are poor;
Exterior walls are relatively sound, rehab is a possibility;
Community Services:
Lack of training programs
Budget instability (need for permanent sources of funding)
Elderly: more live in poverty than city's elderly population
Future Projects (between now and May 5th, the day of final
presentation):
Pedestrian Study
Targeted Land Use Study and Analysis
Detailed Visions and Recommendations
Four Proposed Visions for Chinatown (not mutually exclusive
or comprehensive):
1. Manufacturing Center
2. Residential Neighborhood
3. Commercial Hub: incubate new industries, international links
4. Tourist Destination
Questions
and Comments:
What
new industries have you identified?
- Need
further study, but medical and wedding planning services are the
kinds of services that could be supported and expanded upon.
- The
Studio is researching the benefits of an Empire Zone for Chinatown
businesses.
Informal
economy: how to formalize?
Training
Programs: what are alternative sources of funding?
Need for discipline: community infrastructure embodies the physical,
cultural and financial.
- Physical:
transportation, housing
- Cultural:
ability of community to change old ways? Are they ready to make
the leap to new ideas and ways of doing things?
- Financial:
How does the community not rely on government for resources? Ability
of community to generate internal wealth and international links.
- All
of these factors make up a sense of place. Need to test each vision
to evaluate how inter-related factors will be affected.
- How
to recast new ideas so community is more receptive?
Create
a matrix of sources of resources for community development: identify
what the private, public, private-public, non-profit sectors can contribute.
- BID
is example of successful private-public partnerships.
How much
land is Asian/Chinese-owned?
Where
are the trucks going?
Need
to take into consideration that 30% of Chinatown population is non-Asian,
and they're affecting transformation of the community (i.e. emergence
of boutiques that are replacing ethnic businesses).
What
are potential waterfront linkages?
What
are you going to do with the buses?
Greater
amenities can support greater density.
- Identify
areas that can support higher density (FAR).
How to
create community funds for development? (i.e. linkage fee for conversion
of manufacturing into commercial uses that would fund relocation of
garment factories).
Approach
Chinatown as a multi-nodal system (i.e. the creation of several nodes
may help address the bus problem). Chinatown should have multiple
points for delivering different kinds of services.
- Keep
the buses moving so they don't have to fight for parking (i.e.
NYU downtown bus)
Need to
evaluate historical trends for demographic changes, particularly in
terms of educational attainment, industries, and occupations, and
project trends for youth and working-age population.
Park
Row is important corridor for office workers and tourists to flow
from Lower Manhattan to Chinatown.
Existing
and new industries for Chinatown that lessen dependency of businesses
on Chinese customers for economic viability: jewelry and transportation
(i.e. inter-Chinatown buses whose customers are largely non-Asian).
What
services and businesses will attract Chinese and Asian Americans
from the suburbs if the larger and cleaner supermarkets diminish
their need to come to Chinatown for produce?
Importance of cultural activities for bringing people to Chinatown:
- Approximately
200 kids come to H.T. Chen and Dancers on Saturdays for classes.
Each child brings approximately 3 family members, which means
about 600-700 people visit Chinatown as a result of the classes.
How
to create more open space?
- The
Studio is in the process of comparing the amount of open space
in Chinatown to rest of the city;
- The
community may not need additional open space, but rather, better
access to existing and proposed parks in Lower Manhattan.
- Enhance
pedestrian access to East River Park;
- Idea:
green roofing to provide recreational space for families.
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