Name: S.F. Chinatown ‘may be lost forever’: Leaders plead for more financial aid from city
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S.F. Chinatown ‘may be lost forever’: Leaders plead for more financial aid from city

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Chinatown community leaders are calling on Mayor London Breed to provide financial aid to the historic neighborhood’s restaurants and small businesses, arguing many won’t survive the pandemic without millions of dollars in grants and investment.In a letter sent on Monday, nine organizations asked Breed to support Chinatown as the city has supported the Latino community during the pandemic. They want $5.3 million in grants to help Chinatown small businesses keep employees on payroll; $4.2 million to partner with a nonprofit like SF New Deal to work specifically with Chinatown restaurants to feed the neighborhood’s most vulnerable residents; and $2 million to go toward revitalizing Chinatown tourism after the pandemic.They’re also asking for daily street cleaning and free parking with validation at nearby parking garages to encourage more people to eat and shop in Chinatown.More on Chinatown“The impact of COVID-19 on San Francisco’s Chinatown started early and has been particularly severe,” read the letter, adding that Chinatown businesses have faced xenophobia and the threat of gentrification along with the pandemic-related restrictions all businesses are facing.“We must take all possible measures to protect this neighborhood for, if we do not, Chinatown’s century long history may be lost forever,” it continued.Breed’s office is planning to meet with the organizations who signed the letter to discuss “immediate relief” and other possibilities for longterm health of the neighborhood, according to a statement from Breed’s spokesperson, Jeff Cretan. “We know how important Chinatown is — for the identity of our city, the benefit to our cultural and economic vitality, and the workers and residents it supports,” the statement said.Chelsea Hung said it’s been a brutal year for her family’s 24-year-old Hong Kong-style restaurant, Washington Bakery &amp; Restaurant, in Chinatown. At the beginning of the pandemic, they laid off longtime workers and takeout was painfully slow. When business started to pick up with outdoor and indoor dining, they spent thousands on a new parklet — a challenging and expensive endeavor because of Chinatown’s hills.While Washington Bakery received a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan, the restaurant got unlucky by being in the first round of recipients — back then, restaurants were told to use up the funds in just eight weeks. Hung said she’s applied to 15 grants and has been rejected by almost all of them. The one city grant that she is on track to receive is , but it must go toward improving storefronts and outdoor dining set-ups.“I know they’ve provided different grants and loans but it just hasn’t been a very easy process to get these,” she said. “They’re providing resources but not enough.”Without more aid, she’s not sure if Washington Bakery will make it to the end of the pandemic.Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.Earlier this year, the Chinatown Community Development Center surveyed neighborhood businesses and 50% stated they may not survive 2020. Restaurants reported that outdoor dining and nonprofit meal programs were a lifeline — the recent stay-at-home order means many are once again facing a threat of permanent closure, according to the letter.The letter was signed by Chinatown Community Development Center, Be Chinatown, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, Community Tenant Association, Chinatown Single Room Occupancy Families United Collaborative, Rose Pak Democratic Club, Asian Pacific Islander Council, Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Chinatown Merchants Association.Hung and the Chinatown organizations noted that if the city could provide $1.4 million for Latino small businesses — part of announced in September — plus a $3.2 million San Francisco Latino Small Business Fund, announced earlier this month, then the city should also do something similar for Chinatown. Otherwise, they fear the worst.“Businesses are going to close down,” said Hung. “The hustle and bustle of Chinatown, it’s not going to exist. A lot of the culture will be gone.”Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email:Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Chinatown community leaders are calling on Mayor London Breed to provide financial aid to the historic neighborhood’s restaurants and small businesses, arguing many won’t survive the pandemic without millions of dollars in grants and investment.In a letter sent on Monday, nine organizations asked Breed to support Chinatown as the city has supported the Latino community during the pandemic. They want $5.3 million in grants to help Chinatown small businesses keep employees on payroll; $4.2 million to partner with a nonprofit like SF New Deal to work specifically with Chinatown restaurants to...

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Janelle Bitker

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S.F. Chinatown ‘may be lost forever’: Leaders plead for more financial aid from city

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