$8.5 million for Lincoln!
Grant awarded to Oakland Chinatown’s beloved Lincoln Square Park to build a new recreation center
The Chinatown community is bubbling with excitement after the recent announcement of a $8.5 million dollar grant to the City of Oakland to build a new recreation center at Lincoln Square Park, the heartbeat of the community.
On December 8th, California State Parks announced the Statewide Park Program grant recipients, the California Statewide Parks Program received $2.4 billion in total funding requests and awarded $548.3 to over 100 communities to expand all Californians’ access to the outdoors. Funding for the grants comes from the Legislature in the 2021-22 state budget and voter approved Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018 (Proposition 68).
This community-driven project is endorsed by over 38 community leaders and community-based organizations, many serving the downtown and Oakland Chinatown community. Friends of Lincoln Square Park played a key role in supporting the City of Oakland in applying for the funds by leading the community engagement process and assisting with the grant submission.
Darlene Flynn, Director of Race and Equity for the City of Oakland recently shared her thoughts at a community meeting:
I am very, very excited that this long awaited project to invigorate the Lincoln Center, the heartbeat of this community, is moving forward. The City would not necessarily have achieved this milestone on its own, but the work that the community has done has gotten us here. That's how the most meaningful things get done in the city, when community comes together to make it happen.
About Friends of Lincoln Square Park
Friends of Lincoln Square Park was founded by a multi-generational group of volunteers in 2016 to fundraise, advocate, and lead the visioning process for a new and larger Lincoln Recreation Center in Oakland Chinatown that better serves the community. We also sponsor park programming, such as the Lincoln Summer Nights, and support the Oakland Parks, Recreation and Youth Development department to ensure that the park continues to be a welcoming and thriving public park for everyone, now, and for generations to come.
Friends of Lincoln Square Park is fiscally sponsored by the Wa Sung Community Service Club.
About Lincoln Square Park
Lincoln Square Park is a joyful haven for the community. With a rich heritage centered in Chinatown and an open door ethos, this family-friendly park is uniquely positioned to serve the multi-generational, multi-cultural residents, and students of Oakland. It is the only recreation center in Downtown Oakland and one of the busiest parks in the city, serving over 1000 visitors a day. A new community center and resiliency hub is a top priority of the Chinatown community.