Historic Chinatown street gets beautiful mural
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
One of the most historic streets in
Chinatown now boasts one of the
most colorful street murals in the
entire city. The city unveiled last weekend
“Rice Terraces,” a 4,800-square-foot asphalt
art mural created by artist Dasic Fernandez
along Doyers Street between Pell Street and
Bowery. It was created in partnership the
city’s Department of Transportation and the
Chinatown Business Improvement District
as part of the ongoing effort to promote
the neighborhood’s businesses and bring
tourism back to the community.
Rice Terraces features 44 vibrant colors
along the bending roadway running through
the heart of the neighborhood, and home to
an array of long-standing restaurants and
other businesses. Fernandez drew his inspiration
for the mural from rice cultivation
terraces commonly found around China.
“We used the Anamorfi sm technique to
be able to create a 3D experience. If people
look from the corner of Pell Street or Bowery,
one can see how the shapes transform
into volumes,” Fernandez said. “I wanted
to create a design that can be integrated in
its environment.”
PHOTO COURTESY NYC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pedestrians check out “Rice Terraces,” the new 4,800-square-foot
asphalt art mural now on display along Doyers Street in Chinatown.
Community leaders hope the mural
serves as a new attraction for visitors returning
to Chinatown as the city continues
to reopen. The neighborhood was hit hard
by the COVID-19 pandemic long before the
fi rst offi cial case was detected in New York
City in early March 2020 — as reports of
the virus’ origin in Wuhan, China sparked
fear, misinformation and discrimination
that kept visitors away.
But Chinatown, much like the rest of
New York City, is now on the long road
back to recovery. Wellington Chen, executive
director of the Chinatown BID/
Partnership, sees the Rice Terraces mural
as key to the community’s rebound.
“We are very impressed by the speed in
which this artistic team was able to accomplish
this mural, allowing that much more
time for the community and the public to
enjoy this great outdoor setting,” Chen said.
“This colorful and delightful tapestry is
also refl ective of how food and rice have
historically been grown in our culture by
terracing in diffi cult terrains, and why the
greeting of ‘Have you eaten yet?’ is our normal
way of greeting one another. Now, it is
time to invite everyone to come on down!”
The Rice Terraces mural will be on
display for up to 11 months, and the Chinatown
BID will bear the responsibility for
its maintenance.
“Over the past year, New Yorkers have
learned the precious value of shared open
spaces, and projects like these will be crucial
in the city’s recovery,” said Edward
Pincar, the DOT’s Manhattan borough
commissioner. “Doyers Street is a heavily
traffi cked corridor fi lled with wonderful
storefronts, restaurants, and now this
beautiful artwork. This new mural will
revitalize and reactivate local commerce
as well as encourage residents and visitors
to immerse themselves in the historical
culture of this community.”
Activists continue calls to defund the police
BY DEAN MOSES
Despite the surge in shootings and
violence throughout New York City,
activists are still calling for cuts to
the NYPD’s $6 billion budget for the Fiscal
Year (FY) 2022.
The NYC Budget Justice Coalition and
Communities United for Police Reform
(CPR) on Tuesday, June 29, joined families of
those killed during interactions with police
offi cers by demanding the removal of $1 billion
promised by the New York City Council
last year during the height of the Black Lives
Matter movement.
Although the Big Apple faces a storm
of bullets in the form of daily shootings
— including that of a vacationing Marine
who received a gunshot wound to the back
in Times Square on Sunday — those at the
City Hall Park rally on Tuesday believe the
NYPD can be, and has been throughout the
years, an even more deadly force.
Looking to trim the fat off the citywide
police force and reallocate the funds to community
based programs and other ventures
such as investing in education and mental
health support, the group cited the upcoming
City Council vote, a date for which has yet
to be determined, as a critical opportunity to
see their agenda realized. In April, Mayor Bill
de Blasio announced New York City’s 2022
The NYC Budget Justice Coalition and Communities United for Police Reform
are calling for the removal of $1 billion from the NYPD budget for FY 2022.
budget to be $98.6 billion to help recover the
metropolis’ economy. The deadline to vote on
this new budget is set for June 30, as July 1
marks the beginning of the 2022 fi scal year.
“There is a city budget that is supposed
to be happening and it is the fi rst time in
person in a really long time, and what are
they doing? They are hiding. They are not
making any information public; they are
not allowing the community members to
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
say where the money should be spent,” said
Adilka Pimente, of Communities United for
Police Reform. “We are here to make sure
they can hear us, and make sure we get our
demands read aloud and clear. We need
money for our communities. We know the
money exists; it is all about where you are
putting it. The safest communities don’t have
the most cops, they have the most resources.”
The rally criticized the current $6 billion
NYPD budget, calling it “bloated” while also
denouncing some 36,000 police offi cers currently
employed for failing to make meaningful
changes to safety while also disrupting
community events, referring to an altercation
between offi cers and revelers at Washington
Square Park during a Pride celebration. Not
only that, but families who say they have
experienced the dark side of law enforcement
fi rsthand are also pleading for the city council
to vote against the FY22 budget.
Hawa Bah gripped a framed photograph
of her son Mohamed Bah, who was shot eight
times by the NYPD while inside of his Manhattan
apartment in September of 2012. The
parent, who has been fi ghting for her son’s
memory for nearly a decade, made it clear
where she stands on the budget cut proposal.
“I am here today to make sure that the
budget be cut, and the money get sent to
communities in need for mental health support,
health care, schools, better housing and
all the necessities in a community. I am not
standing here today just for Mohamed Bah.
I am standing for all victims of police brutality,”
Hawa Bah told the group of onlookers
holding “Defund NYPD” banners.
She was joined by those who know her pain
all too well, including the mother of Amadou
Diallo, Kadiatou Diallo, as well as Mercy
Baez, cousin of Anthony Baez, who both
agreed with stripping funds from the NYPD.
4 July 1, 2021 Schneps Media