How the Brooklyn Chinese-American Association shaped public safety in Sunset Park
As preschoolers dance, paint and play inside a Sunset Park daycare center, seniors sing traditional Chinese opera, exercise and practice calligraphy just one block away.
The programs are part of a broad network of community services supporting Brooklyn's largest Chinatown in Sunset Park, much of it built over decades by the Brooklyn Chinese-American Association.
"In 1990 ... based on the survey, we had about 3,000 Chinese people in the neighborhood. And now, probably, we are talking about over 200,000 people that are living in Sunset Park and the surrounding area," said Paul Mak, president and CEO of the organization.
Helping crime victims with language barriers
Mak founded the Brooklyn Chinese-American Association in 1988, partly in response to the robbery and murder of a high school student. He worked with police to support the victim's family through language barriers and helped authorities solve the crime.
The organization later established a crime victims hotline, connecting residents with the NYPD while also providing translation services for immigrants who struggled to communicate with law enforcement.
In the 1980s, Chinese immigrants were steadily moving into Sunset Park, transforming Eighth Avenue into what is now Brooklyn's Chinatown.
"I'm the first guy who come to 8th Avenue," said retired business owner Shiu Kan Leung, who opened an electronics shop there in 1980. As the first Chinese person to open a store there, he also led a merchant group in the area.
Assigning a bilingual police officer
The neighborhood grew, and so did concerns about crime and communication barriers between residents and police.
In 1990, the Brooklyn Chinese-American Association launched a petition calling on the NYPD to assign a bilingual police officer to the neighborhood.
"His job was really walking along Eighth Avenue, outreaching to the local merchants and really hearing their complaints and trying to address their concerns and things of that nature. And I think that was a big help," Mak said.
Gang takedowns and expanding services
Business owner and real estate developer Danny Tsoi recalled how BCA also worked alongside police to address gang activity targeting local merchants.
"The gangsters ... asking for protection money, you know. So finally, you know, we had BCA step up and work with the police department and we worked out something. So finally, no more gangsters," Tsoi said.
Today, Eighth Avenue is lined with dozens of storefronts, community organizations and social service providers.
Mak said the organization started expanding beyond public safety initiatives in the 1990s.
"In 1993, we started our first senior center. 1995, we started our first daycare and social services and things of that nature," he said.
Community leaders say those early investments in safety, trust and belonging helped lay the foundation for the thriving neighborhood that exists today.
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