70 Mulberry

 
 

Context

For over 130 years, 70 Mulberry served as a vital and beloved community space for communities living in Lower Manhattan and Chinatown. The City constructed the building in 1892 as Public School 23, which served the predominately Italian-American population in the neighborhood at the time. As immigrants from China moved to Lower Manhattan in the 1930s, 70 Mulberry increasingly became an institution providing critical educational services to Chinese youth and adults. When the school was decommissioned in 1976, the City maintained ownership and converted the building into community center for Chinatown. 70 Mulberry housed five community-based organizations (HT Chen Dance Center, Chinatown Manpower Project, United East Athletics Association, CPC Chinatown Senior Center, and the MoCA Archives) providing cultural, recreational, and social services for the neighborhood.

Severely damaged in a 5-alarm fire in January 2020, the fate of this important and historic community space hangs in limbo. Following the fire, the City issued a vacate order to assess the structural integrity of 70 Mulberry. Ultimately, the City demolished a portion of the building and initiated a planning process to rebuild the cultural and community hub. Mayor Bill de Blasio also announced $170 million in funding to support capital costs related to reconstruction. Despite the commitment of public funds, the planning process has lacked transparency and failed to address some community interests.

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We, the Think!Chinatown (T!C) team, are concerned about the progress of the 70 Mulberry Street rebuilding project. Since the fire occurred at 70 Mulberry, we have recognized an opportunity to rebuild this project into a space that can better serve the non-profit community in Chinatown. However, we are concerned that work on this project has been inadequate for the needs of the community and seek to push for several changes:

T!C Urges DCAS/DDC To…

  1. Produce a study to explore the maximum potential floor to area ratio (FAR) to best serve the community without limiting the project to current budgetary conditions;

  2. T!C is calling for increased transparency and communication between the city, advisory committee, and the broader Chinatown community including stakeholders beyond the current tenants;

  3. Finally, T!C is calling for the building plans to take into account the future organizations in Chinatown and provide a fair process for a new generation of Chinatown non-profit organizations to apply for tenancy opportunities in the newly configured 70 Mulberry Street building.

Progress so far…

Since the fire occurred at 70 Mulberry on January 23, 2020, a series of community-led and City-led events have happened in an effort to rebuild, ensure the safe return of tenants, and expand community use of the new building. 

Between May and June 2020, a series of community meetings and a town hall were held to engage with the public about the project. 

In July 2020, the City formed the 70 Mulberry Advisory Committee that represented a wide range of interests, including building’s tenants, representatives appointed by Community Board 3, and local elected officials, with the goal of [building out a community visioning process]. 3x3 Design was selected to build out a community visioning process. One recommendation that came from the community visioning process suggested a solicitation to select a consultant to conduct a preservation assessment. Ronnette Riley Architect and Jablonski Building Conservation, Inc. was selected to conduct the assessment and presented the findings to a town hall.  

While 70 Mulberry is administered by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), the project was transferred to the NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) for project management of design and construction. 

The then-Mayor de Blasio was committed to restoring the building and later announced a plan to reconstruct 70 Mulberry in October 2021. The plan committed $170 million to preserve the facade and increase community use space.  

Think!Chinatown has consulted with architect Erik Chu on the technical implications of proposed building scenarios and with architectural historia Kerri Culhane on the history of 70 Mulberry and its surrounding. 

PRESS CONFERENCE: Preserving the Historic Facade is the Quickest Path to Rebuilding a Bigger & Better 70 Mulberry (PS23)

ARCHIVE OF OFFICIAL THINK!CHINATOWN LETTERS OF CONCERN (2020-PRESENT)

3X3 REPORT: SHARED VISION FOR 70 MULBERRY STREET

Overview of Rebuilding Options

Erik Chu is an architect and urban designer of 25-years experience in NYC with a background in working with historic buildings. He has worked for Marvel Architects and for Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners. Erik graduated Summa cum Laude from the University of California at Berkeley, and he has a Master of Architecture degree from Yale University. See the PDF of Erik’s presentation here.

the History of PS23 / 70 Mulberry

Architectural historian Kerri Culhane’s experience spans twenty years of professional historic preservation and planning practice, ranging from single sites to landscape-scale planning and sustainable development projects. Over the past 15 years, Kerri’s work has focused on the past, present, and future of the immigrant neighborhoods of New York City’s Lower East Side, Chinatown, Little Italy, and the Bowery.

What can you do?

We don't need to choose between expediency of rebuilding and preservation of our history. Our community deserves better. Use your voice and write a letter of concern to those involved!

CITY COUNCILMEMBER, DISTRICT 1

Dept of Design & Construction

Executive Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Community Affairs

Director, Office of Community Outreach and Notification

Outreach Coordinator, Intergovernmental Affairs, Borough-Based Jails Program

COMMUNITY BOARD 3

District Manager