TCC Minutes
Thursday, October 8, 2009
9:30 AM, Boston Chinatown Storefront Library, 640 Washington Street
In attendance: Pamela Lee, Janice Wong, Richard Goldberg, Norman Eng, Kun Chang, Lian Yu, Megan Cheung, Teresa Wong, Alex Zhang, Lisette Le, Sunny Schwartz, Sue Kim, Fiona Yu, Elaine Ng, Kye Liang, Sherry Dong, Dennis Lui, Samuel Tsoi, Steven Chin, Angela Sun, Chutze Chou, Chin-Wen Lee, Kenny Wong
I. Refreshments, Welcome, & Introductions
II. Boston Chinatown Storefront Library, Leslie Davol
-Opening Wednesday, October 14th, 4-6 PM
-Amy Cheung is the day-to-day program manager
-Opens on Thursday, October 15th for regular operations
-Hours of operation are presently Tuesday-Thursday, 11 AM to 6 PM and Friday-Saturday 10 AM to 5 PM.
-Interns from the Simmons Graduate School of Library Sciences will be active in the library.
-More information can be found at http://www.storefrontlibrary.org
III. TCC Discussion Topic Brainstorming
-Discussion led by Enoch Liao on the following subjects to be used for future TCC meetings in the next year. Discussion was in the format of speaking in smaller groups for several minutes and then presenting to the full meeting body.
-What are one or two issues you are facing in your work in Chinatown?
• Current economic conditions
• Heath education / outreach
• Being aware of grant opportunities / stimulus $
• Advocating for projects such as a library difficult, funding for such
• Difficulty in recruiting bilingual staff
• Outreaching to Boston residents due to funding considerations
• Customer service on the T
• Effective collaboration to avoid overlap/competition, pooling of resources
• Strategy forums / joint planning
• Going green: Saving energy and providing jobs/training in the sector
• Job training for English learners
• Organizations having a stronger presence in Chinatown
-How could another member of Chinatown or TCC really aid you in your work in Chinatown?
• TCC newsletter for hiring/outreach
• Providing collaboration platform for agencies
• Spreadsheet of training/ESL opportunities / Chinatown Educational Pathway
• Guest speakers from Chinatown
• Physical space
• Coming together and implementing vision
• Participation in each others’ events
• Bringing constituents to the table on issues
• Word of mouth information
• Twitter feed
• Coordinated website
• College access
• 2010 Census (for February, due to forms sent in March)
IV. BCEC and Parcel A Update, Pastor Steven Chin
-Overview of BCEC’s present state. In present building since 1979, which was designed for 250.
-Currently, church is using an Annex, Newton campus, Quincy Elementary School, and Quincy Upper School as additional locations to provide services to more than 1000 church members.
-Received tentative designation from the BRA for an equal land swap with the BRA on Parcel A
-$Current projected building to be a four-story construct, tentatively designed in 2007 with an estimate of $18M budget for overall project.
-$8.4 million in pledges over three years since spring 2009
V. Adult Education and Workforce Development, Richard Goldberg and Sunny Schwartz, AACA
-WIA Formula grants are provided to those in need, dislocated workers, and youth workers (including summer grants), comprising of $2.7B of the stimulus.
-For green jobs, City of Boston applied as a bloc, including AACA, the grant application serving a ‘puma’ district, specifically Blue Hill Avenue.
-AACA has secured grant funding for Boston residents in an English for Employment program that would run Monday – Friday from 1:00-5:00, a total of 540 hours of lessons. It starts November 16th and is SBL 4, for advanced beginner/starting intermediate level of English.
-There are specific trade programs for advanced beginner/starting intermediate English comprehension for office skills, building maintenance, and automotive repair.
-For more information on the training programs, contact Wendy Huang at (617) 426-9492, x251
-Funding was provided to AACA for an employment center that provides services including resume writing and critique and job search classes, which runs until at least October of 2010. For more information, call Elena Kuyun at (617) 426-9294, x218
VI. Announcements, Updates, and Kaffeeklatsch
A. Preview of next meeting’s topics
B. Safety Committee (via Barbara Rubel)
Barbara Rubel not present.
Other announcements:
Sue Kim announced that the Harrison-Albany Strategic Planning Study Committee Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 28th at 6:15 PM @ East Newton Street, the Franklin Square House.
Elaine Ng announced that the 40th Anniversary celebration of BCNC will be held on Saturday, November 7th from 3:30 to 7:00
Kye Liang announced that the Chinatown Master Plan Phase I conclusion meeting will be on Thursday, October 29th at 6:00 PM, to be held at the Metropolitan Building’s Meeting Room.
Angela Sun is seeking community leaders as speakers for monthly training meetings for the directors of Phillips Brooks House Association’s Chinatown programs. Contact asun@fas.harvard.edu.