9/11 Aid Isn't Getting Where It's Needed

The LMDC was busy making sure that the Drawing Center got a $10 million grant to relocate to the South Street Seaport but apparently hasn't provided the kinds of grants and opportunities to the mom and pop shops in Chinatown.

Is this really a surprise? Those mom and pop shops aren't politically connected like the Drawing Center.

The Lower Manhattan Development Corp., charged with dispensing $2.7 billion to redevelop Ground Zero and the surrounding neighborhood, has allocated $39.6 million in federal Community Development Block Grant money for all of Chinatown.

That's far less than the $70 million earmarked to develop recreational piers in Hudson River Park, a project opposed by environmental groups.

"When you compare what Chinatown businesses got to the average of what other lower Manhattan communities received, you're getting a disparity that needs to be addressed," said John Wang, president of the Asian American Business Development Center.

But, said LMDC spokesman John Gallagher, "We have made and will continue to make significant investments in Chinatown, providing tens of millions of dollars in funding to create jobs, establish the first-ever local development corporation, boost tourism, improve parks and open space and revitalize the community after Sept. 11."

The way the grants were initially designed, businesses in Chinatown couldn't qualify for the aid and that was on top of the changes to the traffic patterns that resulted from the closures around One Police Plaza and the Lower Manhattan Frozen Zone. Many businesses never recovered from the loss of business. And cash businesses had problems showing need or the records necessary to obtain grants. And don't think that the language barrier didn't affect matters either.

Even after regulations were modified to include smaller businesses, Chinatown got less than other affected areas, largely because grants were based on prior revenue, not need.

Empire State Development Corp. grants covered only about 17% of the average Chinatown business' revenue, with each recipient receiving an average of $9,700, according to a study by the Asian American Federation of New York.

By comparison, average grants for lower Manhattan as a whole ranged from $15,738 to $21,293, depending on proximity to Ground Zero.

Also, many of Chinatown's businesses are cash-based and have little credit history. That made it difficult to obtain loans.

One of the basic problems - traffic flow - needs to be corrected immediately. This is one program that should be fast-tracked, and yet it appears that it will take even more time to come to fruition. One of the most vibrant communities in the entire city is continuing to suffer from the after effects of 9/11.