San Francisco Chinatown lighted up with more new lanterns to welcome 2023

(SAN FRANCISCO) With the private donation and support, Lily Lo was able to hang more lanterns in San Francisco Chinatown. The latest new lanterns were installed at the 900 block of Grant Avenue to celebrate Christmas holidays and welcome the new year of 2023.

Grant Avenue lantern project is the 6th alley in San Francisco Chinatown to be lit up by Lo, the creator of the Light Up Chinatown Project and co-founder of BeChinatown.

In September 2022, two small alleys in San Francisco Chinatown, Hang Ah and Spofford, were lit up to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

A lighting ceremony for the Grant Avenue project was held on December 23 to celebrate Christmas. Since Light Up Chinatown Project started in 2017, Lo had successfully launched about 10 projects to lit up Chinatown in various ways, including installing the LED lights at the Chinatown Gate and Portsmouth Square.

The records from the past five years have shown that the lanterns and LED lights are effective to reduce crime and beatify Chinatown.

But so far none of any of these projects received city funds, even though San Francisco City provides over $1B to non-profit organizations citywide every year.

The funding for the last lantern project on Hang Ah and Spofford Alleys was from Manny Yekutiel, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board Director who started a citywide program to hang string lights around the commercial corridors in each supervisorial district.

This time the funding for the Grant Avenue Project was from the D.C.-based U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC). ”USPAACC’s $40,000 donation will help in the installation of street lights, cameras, and secure locks for local shops to deter vandalism and help improve security,” USPAACC National President and CEO Susan Au Allen said.

“The funding will make possible even more beautiful lanterns lighting up Grant Avenue, displaying wonderful local businesses that are the heart and soul of Chinatown,” said Allen, who had travelled to San Francisco Chinatown and met with Lo earlier in 2022.

In addition to looking for grants to fund her Light Up Chinatown project, it has not been easy for Lo to carry out her passion to make Chinatown safer and better. Even getting the no-parking permit from the city to install the lanterns on Grant Avenue, it was a challenge for Lo.

Lo was frustrated at the bureaucracy at city departments and finally seeked help from Yekutiel.

"I wanted to express my appreciation to Manny (Yekutiel). Without his help and support, I don't think we would be able to have the permit in time to install the lanterns for holidays," said Lo.

Lo submitted her application online on December 1 for a no-parking permit to install lantern at the 900 block of Grant Avenue.

About a week later, Lo received an email from the Permit Division of the Department of Public Works (DPW) asking for more documents of the insurance coverage. Lo submitted the insurance certificate to DPW via email.

On December 8, Lo walked in the San Francisco Permit Center which provides

in-person and over-the-counter service for permit applications. Lo spent almost three hours in the center waiting and checking for the status of her application. It ended up she was told to go home and wait for updates from email.

Lo has not heard from DPW since then and asked for help from Yekutiel. That was how Lo was able to have the permit to install the lanterns before Christmas Day and held the lighting ceremony on December 23.

Wind Newspaper sent an inquiry to DPW. "There are many different types of no-parking permits and different City agencies have jurisdiction depending on the reason for the permit (DBI, Public Works, MTA)," said Beth Rubenstein, spokesperson of DPW. She responded that she would provide more details on the BeChinatown's permit application once it was available.