By Shirley L Ng

A commemorative plaque was unveiled on Sunday in New York City’s Chinatown honoring two men that advocated for a community they both loved.

Community champions Frank Mosco and Corky Lee were remembered with a commemorative plaque that paid tribute to their advocacy and their relationship bridging the Italian Americans and Chinese Americans.

Mosco was a community leader and founder of the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council who cared deeply about the community and it’s residents. In 1982, Mosco was honored for his extensive community service with a street bearing his name in Chinatown, which has been co-named with Corky Lee Way in 2023.

Lee, known as the “unofficial Asian American photo laureate,” captured images that broke stereotypes of Asian Americans and slayed injustice with his photographic work for over 50 years. He was rarely seen without his camera that documented the lives of Asian Americans. Lee died due to complications of COVID-19 in 2021.

Executive Director of OCA’s Westchester and Hudson Valley Chapter, Daniel Lewis said an earlier statement, “Both of these men who actually knew each other had so much in common despite their different cultural backgrounds. Both of them are superstars who put their communities first, despite impact to their personal lives.”

A gathering of community friends that attended the unveiling were Frank Mosco, the grandson of the elder Frank Mosco, District 1 Council Member Christopher Marte and Amy Chin of Think Chinatown.

The younger Mosco spoke emotionally about his grandfather, “He was a bridge builder between the Italian American, Jewish, Chinese, and Latin X communities and a builder of parks and community centers.” He also spoke about a time his grandfather needed Lee’s help. “My grandfather hired him to take photos of the deplorable conditions so many people were suffering under. Those photographs were an amazingly helpful tool to then raise awareness and make real change for tens of thousands of the destitute and working poor.”

Virgo Lee, read a written statement on behalf of John Lee, Corky’s brother. “When we read the inscriptions of this plaque, it is easy to imagine that Frank and my brother Corky, although sons of immigrant parents, would have been fast friends and allies. Despite parents from foreign and different shores, their lives manifests the best in what they both became – being American.”

You can view the plaque on Mosco Street/Corky Lee Way above the left side of Hop Kee Restaurant’s kitchen street level entrance.

Related