Wellington Chen

Who is Wellington Chen?

Wellington Chen currently serves as the Executive Director of the Chinatown Partnereship Local Development Corporation in New York City. He is responsible for guiding the overall direction of the Chinatown Partnership, including strategic planning, setting policy, and serving as the public representative of the organization.

Wellington is a highly respected public servant and long-time community advocate, urban planner and urban affairs specialist.

Chen is also a former commissioner of the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals and has been routinely referred to as a resource regarding economic growth in New York's Chinatowns. In January 2005, Chen was interviewed by Center for an Urban Future on prospects for economic growth in Flushing, New York, a high Asian population district in the Borough of Queens.In the interview Chen highlighted the importance of engaging the Borough of Queens in economic growth: "If the county of Queens were to become a city, it would be the fifth largest city in the United States. It's larger than Houston. This country used to think on a very different level. The two World's Fairs generated each time over 50 million visitors. We used to think on a global level. We used to compete on a global level. We need to get back on that mold."