T!C’s NY Primaries 2026 Candidates Guide:
State Senate 27 — by Issue

What are your views on the Borough Based Jail Project (BBJ) and the community-led proposal for affordable housing in its place? What specific actions have you taken to support your views and/or mitigate the impact of BBJ on the Chinatown community?

GRACE LEE
I have opposed the Borough-Based Jail plan for the Chinatown site since before I took office. In 2022, I was arrested alongside community members as we stood arm-in-arm to block the construction fences at the Manhattan Detention Complex — the first physical step toward building the world's tallest jail in the heart of Chinatown. I put my body on the line because this community has been told for decades, going back to Mayor Koch's "you don't vote, you don't count," that it doesn't matter. Chinatown does matter, and it will not stay quiet. I stand with the community's alternative plan. I co-organized and spoke at the June 2025 press conference where the community unveiled its proposal to relocate the Manhattan jail to the Metropolitan Correctional Center on Park Row and convert 125 White Street into deeply affordable housing, a public plaza, and community-serving retail. I have called on the City to recognize the community's plan as a serious, viable alternative and to give Chinatown a real seat at the table.

YUH-LINE NIOU
I have opposed this project since the moment it was announced, in August 2018, when the Mayor selected a new site in the heart of Chinatown without any notice to the community. I immediately called for an emergency community meeting at CCBA, and co-signed letters with Congresswoman Velázquez and Senator Kavanagh demanding the city halt and reconsider. We pushed for a public town hall so our neighbors could at least face the people making these decisions, and what we saw there said everything: city officials sitting at the front of the room while Chinatown community members spoke, not even wearing the translation headsets that had been provided. That wasn't an accident. That was a city administration that had already decided, and was going through the motions. It was like that throughout the entire process. I want to be clear about where I stand on the broader picture: closing Rikers is the right goal. But building four new jails, without any binding legal guarantee to actually close Rikers, is not closing Rikers. [Response truncated due to exceeding word limit]

As an elected official representing Chinatown, how would you navigate the tension between engaging City and State agencies on the design and construction of the jail, and reflecting the community’s strong opposition to this project?

GRACE LEE
The community's alternative plan must be seriously considered before any further design or construction moves forward. In practice, that means budget negotiations, legislative oversight, public pressure, and coalition-building with other electeds to force a genuine reckoning with the community's proposal. I will not simply manage the community's opposition on behalf of city agencies. My job is to represent the people who live there and to ensure their input is implemented in any plan, and they have spoken clearly and consistently in their opposition.

YUH-LINE NIOU
The context has changed significantly from the de Blasio years, and I want to be honest about that. Under de Blasio, the engagement around the issue felt like theater sometimes. The original proposal they gave us had an actual image of a dragon on it…and when we fought for a public town hall, and got one, we watched city officials sit through testimony from our neighbors without bothering to put on the translation headsets provided for them. That happened repeatedly. There was no real relationship and no real listening. That is not the situation we're in now. I endorsed Mayor Mamdani, we have a close relationship, and I believe he genuinely cares about both closing Rikers and about communities like Chinatown. [Response truncated due to exceeding word limit]

The Chinatown Connections project combines $11.5 million in DRI awards with $44.5 million in City capital to revamp Chatham/KimLau Square. What are your views on how the Chinatown Connections process has unfolded? Have you personally engaged in the Chinatown Connections process or addressed community concerns around it? 

GRACE LEE
I participated in the launch of the Chinatown Connections project in February 2024 and welcomed the $11.5 million DRI investment into improved infrastructure, accessible pedestrian spaces, and green space that serves seniors and mobility-impaired residents. Chinatown has a long history of being overlooked and underfunded, and this project was an important acknowledgment of that. That said, I believe community engagement must be ongoing and substantive throughout implementation. My office has been present at every Chinatown Connections meeting and I will continue to monitor how the project unfolds to ensure that the community's priorities, not just agency preferences, shape the final result.

YUH-LINE NIOU
I've had extensive conversations with CCBA and other community leaders about how this process has unfolded, and the feedback is consistent: the community was not meaningfully centered in the original planning. The process launched in 2024 and while EDC has held some public workshops, the community's core concerns, including what a "Chinatown Welcome Gateway" should actually represent, and who gets to decide, remain deeply contested. My deeper concern is that this streetscape investment is moving forward while the question of full Park Row restoration, which would actually relieve the traffic and economic pressure our neighbors feel every day, remains unresolved. [Response truncated due to exceeding word limit]

The ongoing closure of Park Row and coordinating traffic with our NYPD neighbors is a contentious issue that has not been addressed in the Chinatown Connections project. What are your views regarding traffic on Park Row and how it should be resolved?

GRACE LEE
The ongoing closure of Park Row has affected pedestrian circulation, business access, and emergency response. The community deserves a resolution that reflects their needs, not just NYPD's operational preferences. Any long-term solution must involve genuine community input and should include the pedestrian experience, local business access, and the quality of life of residents who have lived with this disruption for years. I will push for a transparent, community-inclusive process to reach a durable resolution.

YUH-LINE NIOU
I've been fighting for Park Row since I took office in 2017. Working with DOT, Congresswoman Velázquez, Borough President Brewer, and Council Member Chin, we pushed the city and won a real, concrete victory: in June 2018, pedestrian and bike access was restored to Park Row for the first time since 9/11, and MTA buses were brought through. I was at that ribbon cutting. But that was always a step, not the finish line, and I said so at the time. Full vehicle access for Chinatown residents and businesses has still not been restored, NYPD continues to use the bike lane as a parking lot, and the Chinatown Connections project has not squarely addressed this. [Response truncated due to exceeding word limit]

The reconstruction of 70 Mulberry, a public building designated for Chinatown’s nonprofits and cultural organizations, is extremely behind schedule. How will you help ensure progress moves forward on the project? 

GRACE LEE
My office has been directly engaged in the 70 Mulberry process, including attending advisory committee meetings to track design and construction timelines. As State Senator, I will use my platform to maintain pressure on DDC and DCAS to meet their commitments, and I will demand regular public updates so the community is never left in the dark about delays or design changes.

YUH-LINE NIOU
I was in the Assembly when 70 Mulberry burned in January 2020, and our office was active from the moment the fire was out. It was a traumatic moment for the entire community. We worked immediately to help the five displaced nonprofits — CPC, MOCA, HT Chen & Dancers, United East Athletics, and Chinatown Manpower Project — navigate city agencies, connect to temporary space, and make sure they weren't left to figure it out alone. My office held a seat on the advisory committee the city formed, and I pushed for a pause on demolition so the community could have a real visioning process rather than have decisions made over their heads. [Response truncated due to exceeding word limit]

During the 70 Mulberry design process and many other public outreach efforts, the community has repeatedly identified the need for more cultural gathering spaces such as performing arts theaters, cultural centers, and affordable spaces for local nonprofits. Have you personally taken any steps towards addressing this ongoing and growing need? And how will you help ensure DCAS addresses community needs in the design process? ‍

GRACE LEE
Yes. Through my participation in the 70 Mulberry advisory committee process, I have pushed to ensure that the rebuilt facility reflects community priorities, including multipurpose performance and gathering spaces, community rooms, and cultural programming space for the organizations that call the building home. The current design includes a sixth-floor multipurpose room suitable for athletic and performance use, terraces, and spaces for key community tenants including Chen Dance Center and the Museum of Chinese in America. I will continue to advocate for DCAS to treat community needs as a design requirement, not an afterthought.

YUH-LINE NIOU
This is one of the most persistent needs I heard throughout my time in the Assembly, and it remains urgent. Through the 70 Mulberry advisory committee, I pushed to ensure that the design went beyond just restoring what was lost, and the current plan does include a new multi-purpose gym and auditorium space and additional community square footage, which reflects years of community advocacy. Fighting for cultural space has been a through line of my work representing Chinatown: our community has always needed places to gather, to perform, to preserve our history, and those spaces have been chronically underfunded and underprotected. When I engage DCAS in the Senate, it will not be a rubber stamp. [Response truncated due to exceeding word limit]

$50+ million in “community funds” were designated to MOCA, Columbus Park, and 70 Mulberry as part of the the Borough-Based Jail plan. The Chinatown Partnership LDC receives approximately $1.8 Million annually in property assessments and oversees nearly $1.7M in projects out of the $20M NYS Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) funds. How would you work with these organizations to ensure the Chinatown community is informed and in agreement with how these public funds are spent?

GRACE LEE
Public funds must be spent with full transparency and genuine community accountability. I will push for regular public reporting on how these funds are being deployed, and I will use my office to convene community members, elected officials, and organizational leaders to ensure there is ongoing dialogue about priorities. No single organization should be making unilateral decisions about how tens of millions in public money is spent in a community without a structured, inclusive process for community input.

YUH-LINE NIOU
These are public dollars, and the public that lives and works in Chinatown must have genuine decision-making power over how they're used. The community funds tied to the jail were deeply contentious, I opposed the jail completely and did not cut any deals around it. That history matters, because it shows what happens when community investment gets negotiated behind closed doors as part of a project the community never wanted. Going forward, I will bring back my way of holding regular community forums and town halls before major spending decisions are made, and push for transparent, multilingual reporting from every organization receiving this level of public investment. [Response truncated due to exceeding word limit]

The Chinatown community uses public spaces intensively, despite lack of infrastructure such as well-maintained lighting, public restrooms, and electrical hookups to support community events. Community-led efforts have activated public spaces, like the day & night markets at Forsyth Plaza and lighting projects in SDR Park. Have you worked towards improvements to parks and plaza spaces in Chinatown?

GRACE LEE
Yes. My office has been deeply involved in ongoing work at Sara D. Roosevelt Park, attending meetings almost weekly with residents, the 5th Precinct, the Parks Department, and outreach coordinators to make the park cleaner and safer. I worked with DOT to get the lights back on in SDR Park, and I supported the park's recent lighting art project. My office also attends the Kimlau Square reconstruction update meetings as part of the Chinatown Connections process to ensure community priorities are reflected as that project moves forward.

YUH-LINE NIOU
The COVID pandemic made undeniably clear how much our community depends on being able to gather outside, and yet Chinatown's parks and plazas remain chronically underinvested, without adequate lighting, restrooms, or electrical infrastructure to support the cultural life that happens there every season. What community organizers have built at Forsyth Plaza and SDR Park with almost no institutional support is extraordinary, and it shows exactly what's possible with real investment behind it.

How would your office specifically support community efforts to improve infrastructure in public spaces and support community uses such as cultural events and street vending?

GRACE LEE
My office will work to help fund capital projects that address the infrastructure gaps in lighting, restrooms, and electrical hookups that communities have repeatedly identified as barriers to fully activating public spaces. I will work with DOT to explore what can be done to improve lighting for public events, and I will partner directly with community organizations to understand what support our office can provide for cultural events, street vending, and other community-led activities. The goal is to make our office a resource that helps these efforts happen, instead of another bureaucratic hurdle to navigate.

YUH-LINE NIOU
In the Senate, my office will work directly with community organizations to identify gaps, advocate for dedicated capital funding, and hold agencies accountable for delivering it. Investment in our community open space infrastructure is long long overdue and something we must push and fund. On street vending: vendors are a core part of Chinatown's identity and economy, and any regulatory framework must protect their right to work, not use enforcement as a tool to push them out.

The Open Streets program on Canal street has been a source of friction in the community between restauranteurs/hospitality groups and residents/other businesses. What guardrails on the Open Street program would your office work toward to ensure a lively economy, equitable use of public space, and harmony in the neighborhood?

GRACE LEE
The Canal Street Open Streets program has generated real tension because it was not designed with sufficient input from residents, other businesses, and community organizations. My office would push for a community-led governance structure for the program that gives all affected parties a meaningful voice in decisions about hours, permitted uses, and maintenance responsibilities. Open Streets should serve the whole neighborhood, not just one sector of it. Any expansion or continuation of the program should be conditioned on a transparent, accountable community process.

YUH-LINE NIOU
The friction on Canal Street didn't come out of nowhere, it was built into how the program was implemented from the start. During the pandemic, I was vocal about the fact that DOT, OATH, NYPD, SBA, and other city agencies involved in Open Streets were not talking to one another. The rules were different and conflicting depending on which agency showed up. Nobody had been properly consulted. Vendors and small businesses were getting ticketed, told to move to one side of the street, then told to move back, with no consistency and no one in charge. It was chaotic and it fell hardest on people who were already struggling. [Response truncated due to exceeding word limit]

What is your plan to protect Chinatown’s ecosystem of affordable housing, small businesses, and family-run property owners? Which of the following do you support or oppose and why?  

GRACE LEE
Commercial Rent Stabilization: I am a co-sponsor of the New York City Small Business Rent Stabilization Act (A5568A), which would create a commercial rent stabilization system for New York City and establish a Commercial Rent Guidelines Board to oversee rent increases. Chinatown's legacy businesses, the restaurants, herbalists, bakeries, and cultural institutions that have defined this neighborhood for generations, are under constant threat from speculative rent increases that no amount of hard work or community loyalty can outpace.

Rent Vouchers for Legacy Businesses: I support creating a rent voucher program for legacy businesses. Commercial rent stabilization sets fair rules going forward, but many of the businesses that have anchored Chinatown for generations need direct relief now, not years from now. A voucher program would provide direct rental assistance to long-standing, community-rooted businesses facing displacement, giving them the stability to survive rent spikes and lease renewals that would otherwise force them out.

YUH-LINE NIOU
Commercial Rent Stabilization: I support it. Small businesses and family-run establishments cannot build community roots when they can be priced out at lease renewal with no recourse. Chinatown is exactly the kind of neighborhood commercial rent stabilization is designed to protect.

Rent Vouchers for Legacy Businesses: I support these. Legacy businesses are cultural anchors. Voucher programs that help them stay when market pressures spike are an important bridge, especially as we build toward more structural protections. Throughout my time in the Assembly I fought on every front for Chinatown's ecosystem. I rallied with Chinatown and Lower East Side tenants and neighborhood organizations against the 421-a developer giveaway, a program that handed massive tax cuts to developers in exchange for a handful of units most community members couldn't afford. I carried the NYCHA budget letter every year and helped secure state funding for public housing for the first time in history, because public housing is the foundation of an affordable Lower Manhattan. [Response truncated due to exceeding word limit]

Other: (please add any other policy tools you are passionate about using to support Chinatown’s local economy):

GRACE LEE
Candidate did not respond to this question.

YUH-LINE NIOU
In the Senate I will also push to expand community land trusts so that land in Chinatown stays permanently affordable and community-controlled rather than flipped to developers. We need policies that understand the difference between a family that has owned one building in Chinatown for generations and a private equity firm, and treat them accordingly.