A coalition of Chinese American community organizations attacked Assemblywoman Fiona Ma and state Sen. Leland Yee in full-page ads that ran Friday, June 1, in five of the Chinese-language newspapers in the Bay Area (World Journal, Sing Tao, Ming Pao, International Daily News and China Press), for opposing a controversial City College campus proposed for Chinatown. The coalition is formed by the Chinese American Association of Commerce and 81 community groups, including dozens of prominent Chinese American families and influential regional associations.
The City College district's desire is to improve educational opportunities in Chinatown with the new $122 million campus. The new campus would replace an existing, cramped Chinatown-North Beach site. But Ma and Yee question its impact on the neighborhood in terms of additional students it would draw, parking, traffic congestion, public safety and additional garbage.
Project supporters are launching a petition drive June 2 in Chinatown and holding a rally in Portsmouth Square on Sunday.
A recent opinion poll by the daily Ming Pao found that 80 percent of respondents favored the 16-story proposal in Chinatown. World Journal, a daily newspaper, also has come out in support. (Source: Vanessa Hua, San Francisco Chronicle, Jun 2, 2007).