EBAR: Congresswoman Simon secures $2M to help reconnect Oakland's Chinatown

Written by Cynthia Laird

Freshman Congressmember Lateefah Simon (D-Oakland) announced $2 million in federal funding to reconnect Oakland's Chinatown community to the waterfront by maintaining and enhancing pathways under Interstate 880. According to a news release from Simon's office, I-880 has long split Chinatown from the waterfront neighborhood, limiting residents' ability to access opportunities or simply travel safely between destinations. The grant will fund enhancements to the I-880 underpasses that currently separate Chinatown, increasing safety measures, expanding accessible walkways and bike paths, and ensuring the long-term health of the Chinatown community.

"For too long, the I-880 has divided and harmed Oakland's vibrant Chinatown community," Simon stated. "As someone who is legally blind and is transit dependent, I know personally how accessible and safe transit options are the difference between surviving and thriving.

"This project will help bridge the gap between Chinatown and other portions of Oakland and begin to rectify harmful infrastructure decisions that have divided the neighborhood and foster community building with historically disadvantaged families," she added.

According to the release, Simon and California's two Democratic U.S. senators, Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, secured this grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Reconnecting Communities Pilot grant program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021.

In the 118th Congress that ended January 3, former Congressmember Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), whom Simon replaced, and Padilla and lesbian former senator Laphonza Butler (D-California) advocated for the Oakland Chinatown I-880 Underpass Activation Project, the release stated.