The Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side

The Coalition to Protect Chinatown and Lower East Side represents the residents, workers, and small businesses who make up the majority of the Chinatown and the Lower East Side community. We call for community planning that is accountable to the people who live and work here- the low-income working families and the small businesses of Chinatown and the Lower East Side.

Since the East Village/Lower East Side rezoning plan has passed, permits for luxury condominiums and hotels in the Chinatown and the Lower East Side community have multiplied. Rents have skyrocketed for residents and small businesses. Dozens of buildings of long-time residents have been evicted by city agencies. Rent-stabilized apartments, Mitchell-Lama, and Section 8 are under threat, while local politicians promote the idea that vacant NYCHA land in the LES will be sold to private developers.

The Chinatown and Lower East Side community needs a plan that will serve and be accountable to the needs of this predominantly low-income community of color, not a plan that will further divide and displace its members. Our community re-zoning plan will protect exist and create new affordable spaces for families and small businesses.