The Parcel C protests were a community organized grassroots movement in the Chinatown of Boston, Massachusetts led by the Coalition to Protect Parcel C for Chinatown, which formed in response to the 1993 deal between Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) and New England Medical Center (NEMC) to create a hospital parking garage in Chinatown. The space in question, named Parcel C, is a small plot of land bordered by Oak Street, Nassau Street, May Place, and Ash Street. The surrounding areas were primarily residential, with a day care center directly adjacent to the plot, which raised health and safety concerns. The protest helped bring awareness to environmental injustice in urban cities and cultivated systems and methods for successful activism in a non-English speaking community.
Background
Boston's Chinatown has historically been the most crowded neighborhood in Boston; in 1990, there were over 111 residents per acre. It also has the least amount of open space per resident, at about 9600 residents per acre. The population is primarily recent immigrants, and over 2/3 of residents speak Chinese at home. In terms of land, Chinatown is a smaller neighborhood of 43 acres. In 1990, 27% of the land in Chinatown was owned by Tufts University or New England Medical Center (NEMC). Geographically, it is bordered by the Massachusetts Turnpike to the south and the Southeast Expressway to the east. During Boston's period of urban renewal in the 1960s, the homes on the land that would later be called Parcel C were seized by eminent domain by the Boston Redevelopment Agency (BRA). It was later sold to Tufts and NEMC, but remained untouched for 20 years.
Medical Center Garage Proposal
In 1985, the NEMC made its first proposal for Parcel C: an 850 car garage that would require the demolition of Acorn Day Care, the only public day care facility in Chinatown at the time. Both the Chinatown Neighborhood Council (CNC), City Hall's advisory group on Chinatown, and the BRA quickly declined. In 1987, the NEMC proposed a smaller, 600 car garage on Parcel C. It was denied again by the BRA and CNC, and resulted in the BRA announcing that Parcel C would be designated for a 90,000 sq. ft. Chinatown community center. NEMC responded with a lawsuit, which was ultimately thrown out. In the settlement, NEMC would receive 2 adjacent parcels of land, hence the name Parcel C.
However, due to economic downturn in the early 1990s, the community center lost funding and Parcel C remained untouched. Then, NEMC proposed $11 million to buy back the land for a 455 car garage, in which 55 spots would be reserved for Chinatown residents, and 10,000 sq. ft. for a small community center. At this point, the CNC was composed of business interests rather than community residents and activists and its operating costs were funded by the NEMC. The CNC voted on May 17 to support the plan by a 12–2 vote, with 3 members abstaining. Despite community opposition and protest, the BRA, who at the time faced an $8 million deficit for the fiscal year, approved the garage on June 10, 1993.
Protest
Community activists started by circulating petitions opposing and fliers to disseminate information regarding the garage proposal on Parcel C. The days before the BRA's hearing for preliminary approval for the garage plan on June 10, the Chinatown community organized a rally in front of the NEMC to express their protest to the proposal, in which over 250 community members participated. In response to the preliminary approval, Chinatown community activists and residents united to form the Coalition to Protect Parcel C for Chinatown. All meetings were conducted in Cantonese and English. The activists main arguments were that the 8 story parking garage would worsen already existing traffic and pollution problems in the area.
They also argued that the BRA and CNC's decisions were financially influenced, despite both parties denying such. At the time of the hearing, the organizers had already acquired over 2500 signatures in opposition of building the garage, contradicting the CNC's representative decision in May. Andrew Leong, co-chair of the Coalition to Protect Chinatown and Assistant Professor at the Law Center in the College of Public and Community Service at the University of Massachusetts Boston, stated "Like so many minority "leaders" that are recognized as legitimate by white governments, the Chinatown Neighborhood Council acted as City Hall's puppet".