As many as 45 members and allies of the Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side gathered outside an event venue in Tribeca last night, November 7, to protest the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) during the Legacy Awards Gala. Organizers accused the museum and its affiliates of actively harming Chinatown residents and the economy by accepting a “community buyback” for the construction of a new prison and being complicit in the closure of a nearby banquet hall.
“They have some of the wealthiest benefactors … the wealthiest landlords in Chinatown here,” Aaron Yin, an organizer with coalition member Youth Against Displacement (YAD), told me. Hyperallergic at the start of the protest. “We want to disrupt this event and tell them that they have no control over the narrative around Chinatown.” Yin also noted that comedian and actor Jimmy O. Yang and actor BD Wong withdrew from the gala programming after calls for a boycott of the museum and event. (Yang and Wong have not yet responded Hyperallergic‘s request for comment.)
Jennifer 8. Lee, member of MOCA’s board of trustees, sent Hyperallergic the following statement in response to the protest: “Many of the concerns raised by protesters – the loss of jobs due to iconic restaurant closures, the preservation of Chinatown and its history in New York City, the impact of a massive prison in the community – are issues that the museum staff and board are concerned about and are already working on in various capacities. We look forward to the point where we can have a productive, actionable conversation about how we can address these together.”
Protesters formed a picket line at 5 p.m., an hour before the scheduled start of the gala at 2 Desbrosses Street. Members of the coalition, including YAD activists, began their march along the sidewalk with hand-painted signs condemning the museum’s decision to in 2018 to accept a $35 million “community give-back fund” from the de Blasio administration in exchange for supporting the construction of a new prison in Chinatown. The museum completed the purchase of the building early this year.
Other signs, props, flyers and chants referenced historic Chinatown real estate mogul Jonathan Chu, a MOCA board member and former Jing Fong landlord who has long been accused of driving the dim sum and banquet hall out of the Elizabeth Street location in 2021. The space now remains empty. (In 2021, a Jing Fong spokesperson said against Hyperallergic that the banquet hall was closed due to declining revenues during the coronavirus pandemic, and that they had previously been ‘offered some rent reduction’ by the Chu family.)
YAD organizer Jun Chang shared this Hyperallergic that the groups’ demands are clear and have been for years: “Give back the $35 million, stand up for the community and against the prison, and reopen Jing Fong at its original location; that is what the people of Chinatown want.”
Chen Liang, current Jing Fong employee who has worked at the restaurant’s smaller location for 20 years, explains Hyperallergic that the museum “doesn’t care about the life and death of Chinatown” is evident from an on-site interview, translated by Yolanda Zhang.
“The restaurant brought a lot of visitors to the area, and since we were displaced, small businesses in the Chinatown area have been struggling,” Liang says through Zhang, explaining that Jing Fong once had 10,000 customers a week and hosted huge events for the whole neighborhood. community. “The people inside need to see that despite the way the museum tries to position itself as a representation of the Chinese community, it is the real culprit of why Chinatown is dying.”
After former MOCA president Nancy Yao left the museum in the spring on a less-than-positive note, the museum has since appointed a new leader, Michael Lee. Protesters drew attention to Lee’s role as board member of the Chinese American Planning Council (CPC) and director of the board of the Home Attendant Program for the elderly and disabled city residents. The organization is over accused of stealing wages from home care workers who regularly worked multiple 24-hour shifts in a row per week suboptimal to unlawful conditions. Lee did not respond to a request for comment sent to the museum.
“Lee has inherited the old ways of the museum,” Liang stopped.
Speaking specifically about Lee, 29-year-old freelance artist Kara Fan of Queens said she attended because she “has people weaponizing their identities to cover up their sellout behavior and their crimes.”
“These people in power who claim they are here to advance the community are actually allowing higher powers and developers to degrade it,” Fan said.
As gala attendees began arriving in black Escalades and yellow taxis around 5:45 p.m., police on the scene forced protesters to keep the entrance clear by placing barricades on either side of the venue’s doorway and blocking any overflow from the cobblestone road. to delete.
Guests were greeted with loud shouts: “Don’t go in! Don’t go in! Don’t cross the picket line!” as they quietly entered the gala through venue security. The demonstrators shouted “Shame!” to those who entered, including gala award winner Connie Chung, who briefly took in the protest and had an inaudible conversation with one of the demonstrators before ducking into the room.
MOCAs have been held every year since 1995 Legacy Awards Gala typically honors people “whose service as pioneers, role models and leaders paved the way for generations.” This year, Chung was honored along with ophthalmologist and professor Stanley Chang. Neither has responded Hyperallergic‘s questions.
Only one participant heeded organizers’ call not to cross the picket line: New York State Senator John Liu, who represented the 16th District. According to a statement to Hyperallergic from his office: “Senator Liu was informed of the problem by articulate and spirited young activists, and he decided to skip the event out of respect for their efforts and is investigating the matter further.”
The action ended around 7:30 p.m., halfway through the gala, with organizers reminding the museum that “we’ll be back.”
Isa Farfan contributed to the reporting.
Editor’s note 11/8/24 5:18 PM EST: This article has been updated with comments from Jennifer 8. Lee.
