United Chinese Association of Brooklyn is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2002 to mobilize community resources to improve the quality of life for the new immigrant population in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. UCA provides thousands of immigrants with direct services and community programs. Significantly, UCA also advocates for immigrant rights and aim to cultivate political awareness and civic-mindedness in the community.

Description and/or History:
We are the only Chinese-serving organization in Bensonhurst that provides advocacy networks and direct services to youth, adults and seniors. Since our inception, we have served several thousand Chinese Americans annually in your district. Our social services include a senior center that registers more than six hundred seventy elders; youth program that includes after school tutoring, summer day camp and weekend extra curriculum classes and outreach.
Currently, we have three main program focus areas: Youth, Seniors, and Community Building and Outreach.
In our youth program, we provide ESL and ELL education which include after school tutoring, weekend enrichment class, and summer day camp.
In our seniors program, our senior center provides a sense of home and belonging for its community members who often face cultural isolation and loneliness upon arriving to the US. The center is open five days a week and serves over 35 seniors daily with Tai-Chi, hot lunch, crafts, and English and naturalization classes.
In our Community-Building and outreach program, we aim to encourage immigrants to become organizers, leaders and advocates of their own community. We also foster civic responsibility and participation through voter registration drives, voter education workshops and cultural celebrations. We also offer critical services including translating letters and bills, providing housing consultation and offering ESL and naturalization classes to more than 600 immigrant adult a year.
Our vision of the future is to foster a vibrant Asian American Community with citizens participating fully in all aspects of Civic, Community and Family life. Thank you for helping us build the road toward fulfilling this vision.

During the year of 2002, a wave of criminal acts, such as home burglary, extortion, racial harassment, assault, and particularly school violence, seemed to target ethnically Chinese residents. Many victims were recent immigrants and unable to seek any assistance due to language and cultural barriers. Some victims were even charged as criminals due to incompetent communication.

In November 2002, a Chinese Lafayette High School honor student was seriously brutalized in the schoolyard by a group of teenagers. He was assaulted simply because of his Chinese ethnicity. This discriminatory crime infuriated the community and finally ignited the long suppressed desire to defend our civic justices. On November 26, 2002, with the support of New York State Assemblyman William Colton, more than three hundred residents united together and formed the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn to defend our human rights.

Contact person: Chih-Ping (Andy) Yu, Executive Director, (718) 232-0055, (email)

Address:

6625 Bay Parkway, 2/F Brooklyn, NY 11204 (See a map)

Directions:

Take subway (N) Train or Bus (B6) to Brooklyn, Bay Parkway stop.   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: N Train Bay Parkway Station,   Walk distance (in minutes): 0.5   Nearest Bus Stop: B6 Bus Bay Parkway Stop, 0.1 minute walk