Thank you for attending OCIC Chinatown street festival on July 30, 2022. Your attendance made our inaugural event that much more special and please know that without your unwavering support, this would not have been possible.

Our OCIC Summer Street Festival was a smashing success! Residents and merchants came up to thank us for putting together an event for the history books. All in all, over 70 booths and a main stage of non stop performances kept thousands of visitors occupied and entertained for eight hours. One elderly lady commented "In all the years that Chinatown has had street festivals, this was the one I enjoyed the most".

Comments like that will only encourage us to strive for a performance next year.As you are aware, the crimes in and around our neighborhood started in the beginning of the covid pandemic and it just got worse over time. It has been 2 1/2 years since our residents were able to walk the streets of Chinatown without feeling scared and intimidated. What hurts me the most is knowing our residents are afraid to go outside their own home and merchants are forced to closed their shops early. This cannot be the Chinatown that we want. OCIC's goal is to bring back the heyday of Chinatown from the past.

We are tasked to help revitalized Oakland Chinatown and this Summerfest is only the beginning. Our council has a few major projects in the works, including the "Ambassador Program" to help keep our community safe and clean. There are also discussions on collaboration between our volunteer patrol teams and Bart/OPD on conflict resolution training. Our Identity Committee is also considering beautification projects like planting vibrant and colorful flowers, trees, benches, murals, and even a welcome to Chinatown gate . I encourage the public and the community to join our monthly board meetings and share ideas on how they want to see Chinatown improve.

With your help and continued support, I know we can get there.

Once again, thank you very much and we look forward to seeing you at our future events. 



Stewart Chen, D.C.
President, OCIC
Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council
A Community Benefit DistrictNew Paragraph