On May 13, 2024, during Infrastructure Week and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the U.S. Department of Transportation unveiled the second episode of its "Investing in America" video series. This installment focuses on the Chinatown Stitch project in Philadelphia, a historic community initiative that received $159 million from the Biden-Harris Administration.
The funds were used to cap the Vine Street Expressway with greenspace and implement other improvements aimed at addressing historical inequities, reconnecting the Chinatown community, and enhancing quality of life. The video features interviews with neighborhood leaders including Cecilia Moy Yep, often referred to as the godmother of Chinatown. It narrates the history of the Chinatown Stitch project dating back to the mid-1960s.
Since its inception in that decade, Philadelphia’s Vine Street Expressway project posed a threat to Chinatown. The area has been home to the Chinese immigrant community since the mid-1800s. By its completion in the 1990s, significant portions of this neighborhood had been replaced by the expressway, leading to displacement of residents and businesses.
The funding for Chinatown Stitch is part of the Reconnecting Neighborhoods and Communities (RCN) program. It was announced as part of a recent round of $3.3 billion in grants that funded 132 projects across more than 40 states. The grant program aims to rebuild and repair communities adversely affected by past transportation infrastructure decisions.
This grant along with others received under RCN will contribute towards achieving Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 goal which directs "40 percent of overall benefits" from federal investments towards disadvantaged communities like Chinatown.
An exclusive interview previewing "Investing in America: Chinatown Stitch" with U.S. Transportation Secretary Buttigieg can be viewed on MSNBC here. The first video in this series released in March highlighted Blatnik Bridge connecting Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin.
