Chinatown Planning and Rezoning Study Draft Task 2 Report: Research and Analysis Table of Contents Introduction 1 Geography of Chinatown 1 What is an Ethnic Enclave? [sidebar] 1 Literature Review 4 Methodology 4 Demographics 4 Economic Development 5 Land Use and Zoning 7 Seward Park Urban Renewal Area 10 Housing 11 NYCHA 12 Climate Change and Resilience 12 East River Waterfront Esplanade 13 Significant Neighborhood Development Projects 14 Completed Actions 14 Proposed Actions 14 Projected/Speculated Development 16 Zoning and Land Use 20 Zoning 20 Zoning Context 20 Existing Zoning 22 BSA Decisions: Variances, Special Permits, and Appeals 30 Land Use 32 Land Use by Lot 32 Number of Floors 34 Bulk and Use Conformance with Zoning 36 Bulk (FAR) Conformance 36 Built FAR 37 Maximum Allowable FAR 38 Available FAR (Lots that are not Built Out) 39 Available FAR by Percent: Draft Study Area 40 Out of Bulk Conformance (Lots that are Overbuilt) 41 Page 1 of 4 Zoning and Land Use, con’t. Use Conformance 42 Out of Use Conformance 43 Renderings / Analytical Drawings 44 95 Baxter Street 45 208 Hester Street 46 53 Hester Street 47 Demographics 48 Population 48 Age 51 Household size 53 Housing overcrowding 54 Income, Poverty & Unemployment 55 Housing 56 Basic Indicators 56 # of Housing Units 56 Vacancy/Occupancy 56 Housing Density 57 Tenure 57 Seasonal Units 58 Housing Costs 59 Introduction 59 Rental Values (Median Contract Rent) 59 Rent Burdened Households 60 Local Rental Market 60 Housing Sales 63 Affordable and Subsidized Housing 64 Introduction 64 What is Affordable Housing? [sidebar] 65-66 Data Sources 64 NYCHA 64 Mitchell-Lama 67 Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) 4% & 9% 67 HUD Project Rental Assistance & Section 202/811 68 Rent Regulated Housing 69 Page 2 of 4 Housing, con’t J-51 & 421-a Tax Abatements & Exemptions 70 Local Non-Profit Affordable Housing 72 Business & Employment 76 Business Trends 76 Chinatown Businesses Today 77 Chinese-Owned Businesses 77 Commercial Corridors 77 Data Sources 77 Business Sectors 77 Business Interviews [sidebar] 79 Workers 80 People who Work in the Context Area 80-81 People who Live in the Context Area 80-81 Residents who Walk to Work 82 Bank Lending 83 Research Methodology 83 Bank Deposits in Manhattan’s Chinatown 83 Implications for Chinatown 88 Outerborough Chinatowns 89 Chinese Population 89 Change in Chinese Population 90 Retail Leakage 93 Cultural History 95 Cultural/Historical Context 95 New York City Chinatown Historic Resources 98 Overview 98 Local NYC Landmarks 98 National Register of Historic Places 100 Place Matters Census of Places that Matter 102 Chinatown Working Group CAPZ Team 103 Urban Design & Open Space 104 Building Fabric 104 Page 3 of 4 Urban Design & Open Space, con’t. Parks and Open Space 106 Streets and Sidewalks 108 Retail and Signage 110 Page 4 of 4 Introduction Geography of Chinatown seen by transportation planners as “easy walking distance,” although Geographically speaking, Chinatown is amorphous. It can be defi ned that may not be the case for the elderly, the disabled or those carrying both by Chinese population and by Chinese-owned businesses. It over- heavy loads. Seen from this angle, some areas in the southeastern sec- laps with other neighborhoods, including the Lower East Side and Little tion of the Lower East Side are not within “easy walking distance” of a Italy. It meets the broadest possible defi nition of an ethnic enclave (see subway station. sidebar), in that it includes residents from a certain ethnic group concen- trated in a spatially defi ned area, and it includes businesses owned by Geography of Chinatown members of that ethnic group that serve the same ethnic group. Depending on the boundary used for the general Chinatown area, the area of focus encompasses parts of Community Districts 1, 2 and 3, but a vast majority of the focus area falls within Community District 3 (see “Context Area” map). Zip code 10002 encompasses much of the Lower East Side, excluding the Five Points neighborhood and Little Italy, both of which have many Chinese residents and Chinese-owned businesses. Zip code 10013 includes the Chinese-heavy Little Italy and Five Points and extends all the way to the Hudson River to include Tribeca (see “Zip Codes” map). Much of the data in this report is analyzed by Census tracts (see the map below). Census Tracts, 2010 What is an Ethnic Enclave? Distinct immigrant neighborhoods are a well established phe- nomenon in many American cities, from Los Angeles’ Thai Town to San Francisco’s Japantown to Philadelphia’s Chinatown. Ethnic enclaves can be defi ned in several ways, including as a concentration of businesses owned by members of the ethnic group that serve either the ethnic group or the population at large (Portes, 1981). Ethnic enclaves can also be defi ned as a concentration of residents belonging to a single ethnic group (Xie, Y., & Gough, M., 2011). Finally, they can contain both a commercial and a residential element (Allen and Turner, 2005). Either way, they require spatial concentration in one location. To be successful and long-lasting, ethnic enclaves rely on certain As can be seen on the public transportation map on page 3, much of symbioses for success, where immigrants rely on informal inter- the area is transit rich, with access to both subways and buses. The nal networks to support each other (Xie, Y. & Gough, M., 2011). “1/2 Mile from Subway Stations” map shows which areas are within half a mile (or a 10 minute walk) of a subway station, a measure generally 1 Introduction Context Area Zip Codes 2 Introduction Public Transportation 1/2 Mile from Subway Stations 3 Literature Review Methodology priorities. Pursuant to Sections 230 and 231 of the New York City For plans, studies, surveys and research conducted prior to 2003, the Charter, annual expense and capital budget priorities submitted team drew upon the Rebuild Chinatown Initiative Briefi ng Book, a com- by community boards must be considered by city agencies in the prehensive analysis of data and resources compiled in November 2003 preparation of their departmental budget estimates. by John Shapiro, of Philips Preiss Shapiro Associates, Inc., consultants to Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) on their Rebuild Chinatown Ini- Economic Characteristics of Asian Americans in the New York tiative. Metropolitan Area For plans, studies and surveys of Chinatown and its surrounding areas Howard Shih, et al since 2003 the team pursued a broad range of resources, including: The Asian American Federation of New York government agencies such as the New York City Department of City 11/10/2005 Planning and the New York City Economic Development Corporation; http://www.aafny.org/doc/EconCharacteristics.pdf non-profi t institutions such New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, the Center for Urban Research at CUNY’s Graduate Center, and The Center for an Urban Future; and private de- This report provides a fi rst-of-its-kind economic profi le of Asian velopment proposals and studies. Particular attention was paid to stud- Americans in the New York Metropolitan Area, based on census ies pertaining to zoning and land use, affordable housing, economic de- information. The document takes an unprecedented in-depth look velopment, arts and culture, and historic preservation. Many documents at the work, income and housing characteristics of the rapidly- were available online. Relevant newspaper articles and reports were growing but under-examined Asian population in the New York re- also retrieved online. gion, in an effort to inform local employment practices and policy- making. The rest of this chapter provides a brief description of reports, papers, Information in this report is derived from analysis of Census 2000 articles and other documents, listed by topic and broken down by title; long-form data on employment, work status, worker class, occu- author; publisher; publication date; and online reference (URL). This list pation, industry, earnings and income, poverty, home ownership, is ongoing and will be continuously updated as new information is ob- housing values, mortgage costs, and owner costs. The long form tained. A fi nal compilation will be included in the Pratt Center /Collective was sent to 1 in 6 Americans. Partnership’s fi nal report to the Chinatown Working Group in November, As the fastest-growing racial group in the New York metropolitan 2013. area from 1990 to 2000, Asians played an important role in the lo- cal economy in the last decade and continue to do so. The Asian Demographics population grew from 868,597 in 1990 to 1,587,782 in 2000 – an Community Districts Needs, Manhattan, Fiscal Year 2013 83 percent increase. Also in that decade, Asians’ share of the total Manhattan Community Boards Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) population rose New York City Department of City Planning; Offi ce of Management from 4.6 percent to 7.5 percent. and Budget This report presents economic statistics on two levels: 1) for the Spring, 2012 region’s Asian population as a whole, and 2) for the six largest http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/pub/mnneeds_2013.pdf Asian ethnic groups in the metropolitan area. As of the 2000 cen- sus, those ethnic group populations were: Chinese (524,507), Indi- Statements of Community District Needs, prepared by New York ans (453,896), Koreans (179,344), Filipinos (176,902), Japanese City's community boards, include current demographics and pro- (59,456), and Pakistanis (57,957). vide a context for development and assessment of their budget 4 Literature Review Asian Americans in New York City: A Decade of Dynamic Change, Economic Development 2000-2010 Renaissance Economic Development Corporation homepage Howard Shih, et al http://renaissance-ny.org/wordpress/ The Asian American Federation of New York April, 2012 Renaissance was established in 1997 as a 501(c)3 nonprofi t http://www.aafny.org/pdf/AAF_nyc2010report.pdf community development fi nancial institution (CDFI) and an affi li- ate of Asian Americans for Equality.