SF Chronicle reports that San Francisco Chinatown leaders are pleading with the city to provide more financial aid.
On Monday, nine organizations signed a letter to Mayor London Breed, asking for Chinatown support in the same way the city supported the Latino community during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Chinatown leaders are asking for $5.3 million in grants to help businesses keep their employees.
$4.2 million is being asked to partner with nonprofits such as SF New Deal to work to work with Chinatown restaurants.
A further $2 million is needed to go towards Chinatown tourism.
Leaders are also asking for daily street cleaning and free parking to encourage more people to visit Chinatown.
“The impact of COVID-19 on San Francisco’s Chinatown started early and has been particularly severe,” the letter states.
“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.
In response, Breed’s spokesperson Jeff Cretan said the Mayor will meet with the organizations who signed the letter to discuss “immediate relief.”
“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.
In other news, Singapore has become the first country to approve the sale of lab-grown chicken products
