Jack Shaw (Chinatown CLT, remote) on COPA and Chinatown displacement
Shaw describes Chinatown's housing crisis, with 15% homeownership rate, 1,150 evictions in 2024 (five times neighboring Lower Manhattan areas), and immigrant tenants facing language barriers. He argues COPA gives tenants and nonprofits tools to fight speculative buyers and preserve affordable housing.
You may begin.
Jack, go ahead.
Oh, okay.
Sorry, I was like waiting.
It was letting me unmute.
Sorry, give me one second.
Sorry, give me one second.
Good afternoon, Chair Sanchez and community members.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to testify in support of COPA.
My name is Jack Shaw.
I am a tenant, a community organizer, and a housing attorney.
And I'm speaking on behalf of the Chinatown Community Land Trust, which seeks to protect affordable housing in Chinatown, a neighborhood with over 150 years of history within the city.
So the housing crisis is dire.
We're all in agreement.
Chinatown is strengthening and we have one of the lowest rates of homeownership in the entire city.
At only 15% and our tenants are often living in dangerous and overcrowded conditions.
Much of the housing in Chinatown is made up of old tenant buildings that have not been updated in well over a half a century.
Many of our community members are immigrants, seniors, families, and small business owners, and at constant risk of displacement.
Many struggle with English and fear interacting with complicated court and social services systems.
And in a recent study done by the NYU Furman Center for the Lower East Side in Chinatown, there were over 1,150 evictions in 2024, which is almost five times more than neighboring sub-codes in Lower Manhattan, such as
Greenwich Village, Soho, and Five-Eye.
I also volunteer regularly with the Asian American Bar Association's monthly Manhattan Pro Bono Clinic, and I work at Chinese American Planning Council.
And last year, a third of the clients
who came to these free legal clinics seeking advice on how they seek legal advice on housing related issues alone.
COPA is a tool that gives tenants and nonprofits the tools to fight speculative barriers, which is a huge problem for lower Manhattan.
We know our community knows our issues the best and we demand the opportunity to decide how land in our community is used.
Whether that's for affordable housing, green spaces, cultural institutions, community centers, resiliency features, or locally supported businesses that add positively to our community.
And we can see how COPA-type laws have helped preserve housing for Chinatown residents in D.C.
Despite many of their neighbors being priced and developed out of their neighborhood,
Wallach House, home to hundreds of Asian American tenants.
Time expired.
Our seniors.
Can I just finish this one?
Yes, quickly.
Okay, we're going to go back to Chris Johnson.