• Rents have skyrocketed
• Families are forced into overcrowded apartments or shelters
• Landlords are harassing and evicting long-time residents
• Small businesses are closing due to rising rents, and many jobs have been lost
• Community programs and services are being cut
• Long-time residents are being harassed by the police

Meanwhile, the City is giving developers incentives to demolish buildings and build luxury condos and hotels. We must act NOW to protect our families, our homes, our community, and our culture.

Our community needs a rezoning plan that will protect affordable space, protect the fabric of our community, and create new affordable spaces for residents and all New Yorkers who love, live, work, and play in Chinatown.

WHY REZONING?

Zoning is a tool used by city planners to control, promote, and/ or deter development. It affects housing, businesses, factories, and everything else that makes up a neighborhood. It determines what can be built, how high it can be built, and for what purpose.

Our current zoning encourages real estate speculation, luxury development, and rising rents, which leads to mass displacement, as we have seen in other neighborhoods such as Harlem and Williamsburg.

A good zoning plan can protect and improve our neighborhood. We believe that when land use decisions are made with the needs of residents and with the goal of sustainable development at the forefront, healthy and vibrant communities are the result.

Support our campaign to create a zoning plan that protects low-income residents and small businesses, and say with us, a Chinatown for residents is a Chinatown for all!

Since last year, we have been working to transition CAAAV’s Youth Leadership Project into an independent organization. On March 29th we will officially launch Mekong, led by former CAAAV staff Chhaya Chhoum as its founding Executive Director.

Here is a report we worked on last year to lay out the main issues and needs of the Southeast Asian community that Mekong will address. Join us on March 29, 2012 from 6-8pm at the North Star Fund (520 Eighth Avenue, Suite 2203 New York NY 10018) for the official launch event and reception. Please RSVP to justice@caaav.org.

Saturday, February 4th
10:30pm – 2am
PMT Studios
69 West 14th Street, 3rd Floor

Please complete the form below to register! If you have any questions, please email justice@caaav.org.

How it works:

It’s $15 at the door to come dance with us! No dance experience necessary! The last person standing at the dance-a-thon will be crowned the “Dancing Machine”. See prize below.

If you want to go an extra step and have folks sponsor you for the dance-a-thon, see instructions below.

To raise funds:

Link your friends to this page.  And tell them in the field “Dedicate your gift” to put your name and email.  We will also track these and let you know when donations come in.

Championship Prizes:

• The “Dancing Machine” is the last standing dancer at the end of the night and wins the Fabulous Prize. Hint: Style and stamina will get you far! Prize: Exclusive yoga brunch session!
• The certified “Shake-Your- Money-Maker” is the dancer who raises the most funds with at least 10 sponsors and wins the Baller Prize! Hint: Make that money! Prize: 1 free domestic plane ticket.
• In the rare event, if you’re really a diva i.e. raise the most funds and are the last person standing, you’ll be crowned “Grand Master C – C is for CAAAV” and take it all.

SAVE THE DATE!
CAAAV: 25th Anniversary Celebration
Friday, May 20, 2011, 6:30pm

25 years of Creating Vision, Taking Action, and Making Movements

LOCATION
32BJ SEIU Building
101 Avenue of the Americas, Grand Hall
(between Canal & Grand Sts)
Subway: 1/A/C/E trains to Canal St

TICKETS
$75 per person, purchase through our website here

QUESTIONS + SIGN UP FOR LATEST UPDATES
Email 25years@caaav.org

www.caaav.org
twitter.com/caaav

CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities (also known as Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence) was founded in 1986 as one of the first organizations in the United States to mobilize against racially motivated violence against Asian communities. Over time, CAAAV has broadened its work to focus on a wide range of issues affecting our communities, including in concentrated urban poverty, displacement and gentrification, detention and deportation, worker exploitation, police violence, and criminalization of youth and workers. Our strategy is guided by a global analysis of migration, labor and poverty, and how these experiences are shaped in the U.S. by nationality, immigration status, gender, race and class.

Click here for NY1 Coverage (NY1, 9/7/10)

On September 7th, residents from 197 Madison Street protested landlord retaliation after they had spoken out about living with hazardous conditions.

It is with much pride and enthusiasm that we announce the recent hire of CAAAV’s new Executive Director, Helena Wong.   Following an extensive national search, Helena emerged as the most qualified candidate to lead CAAAV into its 25^th year of mobilizing Asian immigrant communities.

With over 15 years of involvement with CAAAV, Helena brings to the position both a strong knowledge of the organization’s work and a deep understanding of community organizing in the Asian immigrant, working-class community.   Helena first joined CAAAV as a high school intern in 1995 and stayed involved as a summer youth program volunteer for 8 years.  During this time, she honed her skills as a political educator and organizer on police brutality, systemic violence and gentrification issues.   A proven leader, Helena joined CAAAV’s Chinatown Justice Project (CJP) as staff in 2003.   Under her direction,CAAAV founded the Chinatown Tenants Union which  has grown to over 200 members and 2,000 supporters.   She enjoyed a number of campaign victories including working with a city-wide coalition on the landmark passage of New York City’s Executive Order 120, a policy that mandates language access services at all city service agencies and a number of successful building campaigns.  Helena has represented CAAAV on the steering committee of national alliances like Right to the City and collaborative spaces and brings to the ED position a deep commitment to CAAAV’s mission.

We are thrilled to have Helena bring her organizing vision and solid administrative skills to advance our work.

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Meet Helena in person!

Join us on September 9th from 6:30-8:30pm at our Chinatown office, 46 Hester Street, Manhattan

Light snacks and drinks provided.