MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES $80 MILLION IN FUNDING TO REBUILD 70 MULBERRY STREET, CREATION OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE

A three-month visioning process will solicit public ideas and feedback

  Mayor Bill de Blasio and Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Commissioner Lisette Camilo today announced $80 million in funding to rebuild 70 Mulberry Street, the creation of an advisory committee to support community engagement, and a three-month visioning process to gather public input about the future of the site. The City will explore available options to preserve the existing structure and seek to build consensus about the rebuilding process. To date, the City has participated in extensive conversations with the local community board, elected officials, building tenants, small business owners, and the public about the building and its future.

"In January, Chinatown lost the beating heart of its community: 70 Mulberry Street," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "We're working hand-in-hand with the community to preserve this building's rich history and bring it back to life again."

“Working with the residents of Chinatown, we have secured the funding necessary to rebuild this treasured site at the heart of the community,” said Lisette Camilo, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services. “This historic building is important to the entire neighborhood and we want local voices to help drive its redevelopment.”

The City will prioritize options to preserve what is salvageable from the existing structure and a re-development that acknowledges the history and significance of the site. All building tenants who were displaced will be welcomed back when construction is completed. Since the January fire, the City successfully recovered the vast majority of tenant possessions that remained in the building, assisted with the relocation of tenants, and undertook work at the site to best ensure public safety. 

Members of the advisory committee will include each of the building’s tenants, as well as representatives appointed by Congresswoman Nydia Velằuez, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Senator Brian Kavanagh, State Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, Councilmember Margaret Chin, and Manhattan Community Board 3. The committee will assist with the visioning process and engage community stakeholders.

The community visioning process is expected to begin this summer and stretch into the fall. Community visioning will gather public input about the future of the site and provide a forum to discuss all available options for its redevelopment.

The morning of the fire at 70 Mulberry Street, Mayor Bill de Blasio acknowledged the extensive damage to the building and expressed his commitment to either restore or replace the building for the benefit of the community and its cultural and non-profit tenants. Today’s announcement builds upon this commitment and will further empower the community to shape redevelopment efforts.  

“Chen Dance Center is absolutely thrilled and deeply appreciative of Mayor Bill de Blasio and DCAS Commissioner Lisette Camilo’s solid commitment for the rebuilding of 70 Mulberry Street, and their thoughtful actions to meet the needs of the tenants and the community,” said H.T. Chen from Chen Dance Center. “We look forward to joining the tenant organizations, city and state advisory members, and community stakeholders for the envisioning of the restored building and services for the community. 

“On behalf of the seniors served by the Chinatown Senior Center, CPC thanks Mayor de Blasio and DCAS Commissioner Camilo for their commitment to rebuilding 70 Mulberry Street,” said Wayne Ho, President and CEO of the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC). “We recognize that this is a difficult fiscal year, so we greatly appreciate the $80 million allocation for the rebuilding effort. We look forward to working with elected officials, city agencies, and local leaders in the community engagement process to envision the future of this historic building, ensuring it can continue to serve the Chinatown community. The seniors of the CPC Chinatown Senior Center are eager to return home to 70 Mulberry Street, which for more than 40 years has provided a hot meal, human services, arts and cultural activities, ESOL classes, and more to over 300 seniors per day.”

“CMP is grateful for the Mayor and City Council's commitment of $80 million toward rebuilding 70 Mulberry Street despite this challenging time,” said Hong Shing Lee, Chinese Manpower Group. “It not only provides the tenant organizations a bright prospective for the immediate future, it also offers the community a positive and definitive reassurance that 70 Mulberry Street will continue to be a beacon of the community.” 

“The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) is emboldened and encouraged by the prioritization that Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Commissioner Lisette Camilo have placed on rebuilding 70 Mulberry Street for the Chinatown community,” said Nancy Yao Maasbach, President of the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA). “They have listened deeply to the tenants and community in the tragic aftermath of the fire on January 23, 2020. DCAS’ commitment to preserving salvageable components of the existing structure and upgrading the building construction for broad community use reassures MOCA that the $80 million funding investment in 70 Mulberry, its tenants, and the community will contribute to a stronger New York City overall and will provide dividends for generations.”