Gateways to Chinatown — Submit your proposals for a new district landmark in NYC's Chinatown

“Gateways to Chinatown” is a newly launched initiative seeking design proposals for a contemporary neighborhood landmark at the Canal Street Triangle between Manhattan's bustling Chinatown and the southern entrance to Little Italy’s Mott Street. Co-launched by the NYC Department of Transportation, the Chinatown Partnership, and Van Alen Institute, the project responds to a longtime, widespread desire for a new iconic district marker along one of New York City's busiest thoroughfares, Canal Street. 

Design teams everywhere are invited to submit their most innovative proposals for the landmark and public space. Proposals must be sent to NYC DOT by June 19, 2017 at 2:00 p.m.

Read on for more details, and for some vibrant street scenes of Chinatown.

The landmark will be located on Canal Street Triangle, which is a triangular traffic island in a heavily pedestrian area bounded by Canal Street, Baxter Street, and Walker Street. The winning proposal will inventively “activate the space, honoring neighborhoods past and present while incorporating interactive technologies and enhanced green space”. 

The winning team, which is expected to be chosen later this year, will receive a $900,000 budget to design and implement their proposal. They will then begin working with the local community in early 2018.

“Building on this public outreach process and numerous previous plans, Gateways to Chinatown seeks to understand how a neighborhood gateway can respond to tradition as well as adapt to ever-changing cultural demographics.

The initiative is the result of two years of careful planning and collaboration between NYC DOT, the Chinatown Partnership, and Van Alen Institute. This project responds to a widespread desire for an iconic district marker and is a result of decades of neighborhood advocacy and planning. 

In August 2016, the three organizations launched a public forum to allow community members and stakeholders to share their hopes for the site and ideas for a suitable district landmark. Following the forum, NYC DOT Street Ambassadors reached out to residents and visitors on-site to gather additional feedback through surveys.”

“This initiative is an essential part of a community-focused process to create a new public space that will encourage residents and visitors alike to explore all that Chinatown and Little Italy have to offer,” Council Member Margaret S. Chin said in a statement. “I encourage everyone who cares deeply about these iconic City neighborhoods to engage in the Gateways to Chinatown project to ensure that this central location reflects the Chinatown and Little Italy that we love and wish to share with others.”

For further info about the open call, click the link below.