CA Legislature Action Alert: Help us secure funding
This year, the state has a $98 billion budget surplus. Now, more than ever, California should be investing in trusted community institutions like the Lincoln Recreation Center that keep our communities resourced and connected. That’s why we are calling on Senator Nancy Skinner to allocate $20 Million for the Lincoln Recreation Center in Oakland Chinatown in this year’s budget.
Will you join us in taking action NOW by sending a letter to Senator Skinner?
Sen. Skinner is chair of the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, so it’s critical to tell her you care. You can personalize the template provided with your own stories about why you support the new rec center and community resiliency center project.
Even though we gathered 40 organization and individuals sign-on to a joint letter to the Senator in April, individual emails will be most effective right now in the final stretch of the budget process.
Please also share with others you know who would be willing to write. Strength in numbers!
A center for all
Lincoln Square Park is a vital community hub that has served generations of Asian Americans and continues to serve new immigrants to Oakland Chinatown. It is a gathering place for connection, physical health, and mental health, especially during the pandemic and the alarming spate of anti-Asian violence.
We believe an expanded recreation center at our beloved park, designed and built as a community resiliency center, will better serve the growing community in good times and bad. A new and larger center will ensure that our City can continue to bring the community together through culturally competent programming and services. The addition of new climate resilient building features will also help us adapt to meet the needs of our environmental justice community in the face of an ever-changing climate.
Why now?
After a few tough years in Oakland Chinatown with the effects of the pandemic, anti-Asian hate, and uptick in violence against our elders, it’s been healing and hopeful to be a part of such a positive and future-focused effort.The center is a nexus of community and climate resiliency, health and recreation, violence reduction, equitable and inclusive park planning, and cultural preservation and place-making. Now is the time to move our project forward by closing our funding gap with State funds because this project is:
- A State Priority. We already have State funding, recently selected for the highly competitive Prop 68 State Parks Grant for a grant of $8.5 million.
- A City of Oakland Priority. We are a top City of Oakland priority in their Capital Improvements Projects list, ranking very high in their equity scoring metric. The City of Oakland has a Project Team in place to lead the implementation, A design team has been on board since last summer.
- A Community Priority. We have incredible community support and this is the top priority for the Oakland Chinatown Neighborhood. Our extensive outreach and community engagement process has been recognized as a leading example by the City’s Department of Race and Equity for our inclusive approach.
- Ready to proceed. We are shovel ready, one-time infrastructure investment and the City has already allocated over $4 million for this project and has completed conceptual drawings and is now working on construction drawings.
