Chinatown Community Leaders, Housing Advocates, and Public Sector Representatives held a press conference in Manhattan’s Chinatown on April 17th to kick off the “Chinatown Affordable Housing Forum: Constructing a Community-Led Housing Model” set to take place on April 22nd. The organizers stated that the event aims to urge the government to propose concrete and immediately implementable housing policies to address the long-term housing pressures faced by Chinatown.
The organizers particularly highlighted the concept of utilizing idle resources in Chinatown and Lower Manhattan. In recent years, some buildings that were previously used as hotels have been repurposed as homeless shelters and gradually left vacant due to policy adjustments. The organizers believe that in the urgent demand for affordable housing, these vacant buildings have the potential for transformation, as “since they are empty, why not convert them into housing that the community truly needs.” Meanwhile, in recent years, there have been cases in other areas of New York City where office buildings and hotels have been converted into residential units, demonstrating the feasibility of “conversion.” The community hopes to understand if Chinatown has similar opportunities.
According to the introduction, the forum will invite several key institutions to participate, including the American Institute of Architects (AIA), New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), and New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) among others. During the event, AIA will share relevant policy research, HPD will explain the progress of the city’s transformation policy, HCR will introduce project financing and state support mechanisms, DCP will propose feasible development approaches from a planning perspective, and assist the community in understanding the actual operational path.
Furthermore, the forum will touch on the “Community Land Trust” model; however, the organizers admitted that there is currently no mature plan applicable to Chinatown, especially in terms of exploring how to balance the interests of property owners and the community.
The organizers stated that the forum will welcome participation from landlords, tenants, architects, scholars, and community developers, and will accept on-site registration.
The “Chinatown Affordable Housing Forum” will be held on Wednesday, April 22nd from 2 pm to 5 pm at DCTV Cinema located at 87 Lafayette St (entrance on White St).