Chinatown will get a $20 million state grant to redesign three key public spaces in the less trafficked eastern part of the neighborhood. Local officials hope the projects will revitalize the downtown neighborhood after a bruising year and half of economic distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic worsened by anti-Asian racism.
The main sites for a facelift are the East Broadway Mall, a partially-vacant, city-owned commercial space under the Manhattan Bridge; the East Broadway Triangle; and Forsyth Plaza and Kimlau Square.
“We always believed Chinatown deserved a softer, more welcoming environment,” said Wellington Chen, the executive director of Chinatown Business Improvement District.
Chen said he was most excited about a proposed redesign of the chaotic intersection of Eldridge, Division, and Forsyth Streets, just east of the Manhattan Bridge. Chen has dubbed the intersection the “Village Square.”
The proposed sights to redesign with $20 million in state funding.
With better bike and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, as well as street furniture and permanent set-ups for the produce vendors, Chen imagines a bustling public plaza emanating with “sounds of music, sounds of people congregating, coming together, connecting.”
“It’s about celebration and it’s an injection of hope into the community,” Chen said.
The Village Square sits next to the outdated and largely vacant East Broadway Mall, home of the now-closed 1,000-seat dim sum restaurant 88 Palace, beneath the Manhattan Bridge. The community plan calls for renovation of that space to convert it into a theater with streetside retail.
A rendering of the proposed community theater for the East Broadway mall.
The last of the three points slated for renovations is Kimlau Square, which sits on the western end of East Broadway. Officials say the full renovation and redesigns are likely to require additional city and state funding down the line.
Kimlau Square
Diego Grandi/ShutterstockNew York State Governor Kathy Hochul and other local elected officials announced Chinatown had been awarded the grant Wednesday at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association on Mott Street.
“The future of Chinatown is bright and I have no doubt that we’re gonna come back stronger and more resilient than before,” outgoing Council Member Margaret Chin said.
