Chinatown Connections

From EDC’s Chinatown Connections website: “In 2022, in response to the acute challenges the neighborhood is facing, the Chinatown neighborhood received $20 million in grant funding from the New York State (NYS) Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) for 11 projects to support the neighborhood’s economic recovery. Local stakeholders identified these 11 projects through the Chinatown Downtown Revitalization Strategic Investment Plan as catalytic investments intended to improve multimodal circulation into and around Chinatown, support local businesses, and celebrate the neighborhood’s rich cultural history.”

ABOUT THE FUNDING

In 2021, former Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer approached Think!Chinatown (T!C) to put together an application for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), a $20 million fund for capital investments provided from from the governor's office. In September 2021, on behalf of multiple Chinatown organizations, T!C Director Yin Kong presented a proposal to the Regional Economic Development Council of New York State focused on improvements to Forsyth Plaza and 88 East Broadway Mall to create a cultural center, business incubation center, and provide infrastructure for daytime vendors along the plaza. The $20 million DRI fund was awarded to Manhattan’s Chinatown.

Following this, there was a series of neighborhood advisory committee meetings where different groups bid for different amounts of money from the DRI fund. In the end, the $20 million was dispersed to different projects (none of them related to the original proposal); amongst those was $5 million to the renovation of Kimlau Square, $4 million for beautifying Park Row, and $2.5 million for creating a Chinatown welcome gateway. With this initial amount of DRI funding from NY State, the City then added $44.5 million to create the Chinatown Connections project.

Calling artists to envision public art in Chinatown! On May 22, 2025, Think!Chinatown (T!C) hosted an artist info session for NYC Economic Development Corporation’s (NYCEDC) Chinatown Connections: Chinatown Welcome Gateway project. NYCEDC, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), and Marvel Architects shared about the project, selection process, timeline, budget, and answer any questions. T!C then shared contextual information about cultural representation and the history of gateways in Chinatown. Check out our artist resources for the deck and recording for those who were not able to attend in person, a link to our Urban Omnibus for a more in-depth information on what we discussed (available both in English & Chinese), along with resources from NYCEDC & DCLA.

The expression of artist interest application is due June 15th at 11:59PM EST, which is based on your artist practice, experience, and body of work. No design proposal is expected at this phase. Those interested in being a panelist for selecting the artist should also send in information by June 15 as well.

• SEE GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS

• SEE DESIGN BRIEF PROVIDED BY NYC EDC

Think!Chinatown is working as a sub-consultant to advise on the community engagement process to Marvel Architects, the architectural design consultant for the NYCEDC's Chinatown Connections project. Specifically, T!C is solely advising Marvel's community engagement process, and not executing it. While T!C is supporting outreach to get the word out about the artist and panelist call, we do not have any input in the selection of the artist. Once the panel has identified its finalist, however, T!C will be available tosupport the selected artist by providing cultural context of the neighborhood.