As New Yorkers braced for a violent storm on Tuesday evening, July 21, dozens of protesters in rain gear marched outside a Lower East Side community center carrying signs with the messages: “Community united against MOCA’s racism,” “No prison,” and “You’re fooling no one.” Protesters also protected a fitting effigy of Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) President Michael Lee from the inclement weather.
At the Manny Cantor Center, a group of MOCA leaders heard testimony from members of the Chinatown community. During a town hall event organized by the museum, Lee tried to distance the institution from a $35 million capital grant — related to the construction of a Chinatown prison — that it accepted from the city in 2019.
An effigy depicting MOCA President Michael Lee during a demonstration on Tuesday, July 21 (Photo Anna Lee/hyperallergic)
To protesters outside, the capital grant the museum used to purchase the previously rented space on Center Street symbolized the institution’s acceptance of “prison money” and perceived complicity in other issues endemic to a changing Chinatown, including gentrification and displacement.
Lee, who took over in 2024, expressed that the museum strongly opposed the construction of the prison but took the city’s money because it risked closing and losing the space it had occupied since 2009.
The 46-year-old museum houses a collection of over 85,000 objects documenting the Chinese American diaspora. But in the years since the grant was accepted, the museum has become a controversial institution in the neighborhood, prompting protests and exhibition withdrawals from artists who claim the institution profits from mass incarceration.
“MOCA is still supporting the new prison through their actions, despite what they say… they took the money,” said Zi Shun Ning, an organizer with Youth Against Displacement (YAD). Hyperallergic outside the event.
Left to right: MOCA advisory board member Vic Lee, museum president Michael Lee, trustee June Lee and chief curator Herb Tam (Photo Isa Farfan/Hyperallergic)
Organizers from advocacy groups such as YAD, Planet Over Profit and East Park River ACTION arrived at the venue early and handed out fliers to passersby, calling MOCA’s town hall a “clown hall.”
While Lee and museum leadership described the funding as necessary for the institution’s survival, community members expressed concern that MOCA’s funding was inextricably linked to the city’s plan to build the Manhattan Borough-Based Jail. The facility, which would become the world’s tallest prison, is set to replace Rikers Island prison – along with the construction of three other county jails – following a court order to close the notorious facility over human rights abuses.
Other speakers at town hall called on protesters to abandon their cause and defended the museum as a “vital, necessary home for our history and culture.”
During the town hall Hyperallergic asked Lee if he understood the grievances of the protesters outside and planned to address them.
“We respect everyone’s right to protest,” Lee responded. “They have every right to fight against prison and see MOCA as a symbol of prison; if they feel that they should focus their energy on that, then we completely respect that.”
He encouraged protesters to focus their advocacy on moving the prison to another location.
“We chose this venue to allow those who feel uncomfortable entering MOCA itself to participate,” Lee added. “I have personally invited the Chinese Personnel and Workers Association and Youth Against Displacement to take part in today’s discussion.”
At City Hall, protester Aaron Yin rejected the museum’s account of the $35 million grant: “Will MOCA ever admit that the $35 million is prison money?”
Lee objected to the term “prison money,” reiterating that the museum applied for the grant “solely to purchase the building and keep it here in Chinatown.” The longtime executive lamented that the investment coincided with the city’s announcement of its new prison system.
Yin handed out a printout of a from 2021 New York Magazine report It included an admission from the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) that said the grant was directly tied to the city’s “border efforts to close Rikers Island.”
Civil rights attorney Rocky Chin expressed his support for MOCA, stating, “We need an anchor that will preserve our family archives and address the pressing issues of our time, from the rise in anti-Asian violence to threats to birthright citizenship.”
Protesters demonstrate in front of the Education Alliance building that houses the Mandy Cantor Center, where MOCA leaders heard testimony and questions from community members during Tuesday’s town hall (Photo Anna Lee/hyperallergic)
Another commentator, Melinda Chiu, who traces her lineage back generations to Manhattan’s Chinatown, called on the museum and its protesters to resolve their disputes but accused the museum of appearing unresponsive over the past five years.
“Of course, prison is terrible for Chinatown,” Chiu said, adding, “I feel like we could work together instead of against each other because Chinatown is dying because of gentrification.”
Outside the event, protesters drew attention to Lee’s concurrent status as a volunteer board member of the Chinese American Planning Council (CPC), the home care nonprofit that they called the “worst sweatshop in New York City.” The CPC was named in a lawsuit filed by the Legal Aid Society in 2023 against the state for “systemic wage theft” of home care workers working 24-hour shifts. During the town hall meeting, Lee referred listeners to the CPC’s official statements on the case.
Aaron Yin speaks to MOCA leaders during the town hall (Photo Isa Farfan/Hyperallergic)
Protesters also rebuked former MOCA board member Jonathan Chu, a real estate tycoon who owned the Elizabeth Street building where popular Chinatown restaurant Jing Fong closed during the pandemic.
One protester, Liang Chen, a longtime Lower East Side resident, recounted Hyperallergic He feared that a prison in Chinatown would only worsen the neighborhood’s problems.
“Chinatown’s economy is in ruins and it’s getting worse,” Chen said. “Fewer people are coming to Chinatown to spend their money.”
Pat Arnow, who is affiliated with East River Park ACTION and part of the Coalition to Protect Chinatown, said Hyperallergic During Tuesday’s demonstration, he said protesters would appreciate “a good faith gesture to show they really mean business.”
“If they took strong action against prison, it could make a difference,” she said. “Because they are the powerful and we are not.”
https://hyperallergic.com/protesters-decry-chinatown-museums-acceptance-of-jail-money-at-town-hall/
