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Read the press release here.

Historic Chinatown, Little Italy Banners Aim to Lure WTC Tourists

By Serena Solomon | December 8, 2011 7:01pm
Councilwoman Margaret Chin is assisted into a cherry picker with one of the new buildings.
Councilwoman Margaret Chin is assisted into a cherry picker with one of the new buildings.
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DNAinfo/Serena Solomon

CHINATOWN — Chinatown and Little Italy are stepping up efforts to draw World Trade Center tourists with roadside banners highlighting buildings in the historic neighborhoods.

The 40 banners, depicting a series of five buildings, were unveiled Thursday by Councilwoman Margaret Chin and other community representatives. The signs, in part a celebration of the district's enrolment on the National Register of Historic Places, are the second of a three-phase plan to draw tourists to the neighborhood.

“When you have millions and millions of tourists coming to Lower Manhattan, we want them to see all the other neighborhoods as well,” said Chin, who boarded a cherry picker to highlight the banners hung on Mott and Canal Streets on Thursday morning.

The On Leong Tong/Chinese Merchant Building at 38 Mott Street features Chinese-style architectural elements and motifs.
The On Leong Tong/Chinese Merchant Building at 38 Mott Street features Chinese-style architectural elements and motifs.
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James Gulliver Hancock.

Every year, between four and five million tourists visit the World Trade Center site, which is a 20-minute walk from Chinatown and Little Italy. The councilwoman, along with the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation and the Little Italy Merchants Association are working on attracting those visitors to their neighborhood.

Phase one of the plan was released in October — a map outlining the historic locations in Chinatown and Little Italy that tourists can take with them when they visit the 9/11 memorial.

The banners, phase two of that plan, are designed to educate tourists and also remind locals of the history of the neighborhoods, according to architectural historian and East Village resident Kerri Culhane, 40.

"Our intention is to help the community be economically viable," she said, "while it reflects its heritage as well."

Culhane was instrumental in getting Chinatown and Little Italy a place on the National Register of Historic Places in October 2010. This recognition allows owners of historic buildings to apply for tax credits, grants and low or zero interest loans for restoration or maintenance, according to Culhane.

One of the buildings depicted on the banners is the On Leong Tong/Chinese Merchant building at 83 Mott St., depicted by Australian artist James Gulliver Hancock.

Culhane said that it was an "icon" of Chinese-influenced architecture in the neighborhood.

The series also features P.S. 23, a Romanesque and Renaissance revival brick building that now houses the Chinatown Senior Center and the Museum of Chinese in America’s archives. 

“It was the first public school to have multi-lingual education programs for Chinese and Italian children,” Culhane said of the Mulberry Street building.

Phase three of the plan involves an interactive version of the map that was released in October, which will be available online in the next 30 to 60 days.