SAN FRANCISCO — Mayor Gavin Newsom gathered with nearly 300 residents April 29 at Chinatown’s Gold Mountain Restaurant, to explore ways the city could help improve the neighborhood’s economic future.
“We need to deliberate a strategy to raise consciousnesses,” Newsom said to the mostly Chinese-speaking audience. “This is not the end of the process, but this is the beginning. In June, we’ll be back for implementing changes and strategies.”
The luncheon was sponsored by the Neighborhood Marketplace Initiative, in partnership with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, which strives to provide solutions for struggling San Francisco neighborhoods. Among the eight neighborhoods targeted, Chinatown is the most densely populated; it is also the city’s third most popular tourist destination.
In January, the Mayor’s Office hired global design firm EDAW to administer surveys to Chinatown residents and shoppers. Alexander Quinn, senior economic planner at EDAW, emphasized greater opportunities now, because of the falling U.S. dollar, for Chinatown to attract the steady flow of foreign tourists flocking to San Francisco.
Quinn also noted a shared responsibility to make the area more presentable. “There is the most graffiti in the city here,” he stated, “but the city receives the least number of calls to get rid of the graffiti from Chinatown.”
Gordon Chin, executive director of the Chinatown Community Development Center, said of the luncheon: “I liked some of the statistics showing that Chinatown isn’t really getting its fair share when you look at the tax revenue we’ve been contributing.”
Bok Pon, a long-time resident of Chinatown, was concerned that even though economic strategies can help, businesses and residents still need to focus on curbing their shortcomings. “We need to keep clean ourselves, with no more spitting in the streets,” Pon said.
Bond Yee, director of the Department of Parking and Traffic, addressed complaints about the scarcity of parking in Chinatown. “The problem is not that there aren’t enough spaces,” Yee said. “The problem is that people don’t know where the spaces are.” Yee’s suggested solutions included free shuttle buses, an electronic system linking garages and highlighting open spaces at each facility, and reduced off-hour parking rates.
Pius Lee, chair of the Chinatown Economic Development Group, said night events like walking tours and evening markets could help revitalize Chinatown. “We used to have six Chinese movie theaters before the 1989 earthquake,” Lee said. “A lot of people would come to Chinatown at night, but today, there are no more Chinese theaters. We need to create some kind of entertainment at night.”
Photo: Panelists at the April 29 Chinatown Economic Forum