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- Above, at left, Victor Papa, and at street level, Ralph Tramontana, Councilmember Chin and Wellington Chen raised a banner on Mott St. on Dec.
Councilmember Margaret Chin and Victor Papa, Two Bridges Neighborhood Council president, recently hung an inaugural banner on Mott St. to promote a Chinatown-Little Italy campaign to attract September 11 Memorial visitors to the area.
The banners sport illustrations of On Leong Tong (Chinese Merchants Association), tenements and other iconic neighborhood buildings. Plus, 25,000 maps are being distributed to promote local shopping, dining and cultural attractions.
Papa noted the campaign “manifests a great symbiosis between the two communities, historically.” Jokingly, he added, “I grew up on wonton soup and Chinese food, and Chin grew up on spaghetti!”
Chuckling, Chin replied, “I grew up on calamari!”
Festive lights were also switched on. The lights are bell-shaped, with red plum blossoms — since plum blossomes bloom in winter.
