David J. Louie Insurance, with over 30 full-time employees, is the largest Asian-owned independent agency in New York. Its headquarters display a collection of working vintage slot machines and an impressive collection of trophies for civic service and one, surprisingly, for ballroom dancing.

David Louie, despite serving as Chair of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation, incredibly manages to be "very hands-on" with the company. "I work 60-70 hours a week," he estimated. "I'm tied up with the usual business headaches, competition-finding good help, etc." But as he put it as a panelist at an Asian American Entrepreneurs Network Q&A discussion, where he shared advice on starting and developing a business, "Taking time off is important. Just make sure that when you take time off, it is time off-no calling and checking in. Accept that you may lose some business during that time off, but keep in mind that you will make up for it when you return." Hence, the ballroom dancing trophy. Every week, Louie takes ballroom dancing lessons at the Imperial Dance Studio.

"When I first started work in Chinatown in the seventies," he said, "there were four insurance brokers in Chinatown in the seventies, and about 10 CPAs." Nowadays, in contrast, the one square mile of Chinatown contains over 200 independent insurance offices, and more banks than anywhere else in the state of New York, with the exception of Wall Street. "At the time, the clientele was mostly Chinese needing language support." Not speaking Mandarin could have been an obstacle in developing his business, but he found that action didn't need vocabulary, and he soon gained the trust of the community.

"I wanted to become involved in the Chinatown community, and looked for ways to contribute," said Louie of his early community service efforts. "There were business reasons for my involvement, though I was civic-minded even in high school."

He joined the Chinatown Lion's Club, an active service organization that has been around for over sixty years. "Circa 1976, when video players were rare and expensive luxuries, the Lion's Club bought and donated one to the Chinese senior citizens center. We arranged an agreement with the tape store to get new videos for the center every week. Think what it meant for them to be able to watch Chinese opera and other ways to be connected to China."

A short time later, Louie found himself chairing a blood drive. "There was a critical shortage of blood throughout the state, and the board of directors made me the chair of a blood drive. Now, Chinese people hate go give blood-it's part of the culture not to share blood. I was an army veteran who had routinely given blood in Vietnam, so I was used to it.
I got in touch with the media, used my contacts, and we chose a weekend to have this blood drive in Chinatown." On that weekend, volunteers from the Red Cross quickly collected an astonishing eighty pints of blood, which exceeded anyone's expectations.

"You don't need to be rich or educated to help," said Louie. "It doesn't cost anything for you to share your expertise and educate the public. If you're a lawyer, organize a seminar to discuss changes in immigrant law at the public at the Chinese Community Center. If it's of legitimate help to the community, it's free. Find your expertise and talent, and develop from there." (This year, the Chinese Community Center has hosted seminars covering topics that range from the details of federal program Medicare Part D to stress release information for senior citizens to education about trans fat. See the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association website for more information.)

In addition to sharing his expertise on entrepreneurship at the AEN panel, Louie attended a public hearing in the New York City Hall Chambers on February 5 and testified in support of bills to require employers using bicycle operations to provide helmets and other safety equipment-a proposed change he had begun almost four years ago. "As an insurance broker, I?ve seen too many accidents involving bicycle delivery people being seriously injured-sometimes fatally-because the workers lacked protective gear. Insurance companies routinely recommend bicycle helmets and protective gear, but unfortunately, these recommendations too often are ignored. I believe it is the responsibility and duty of the employer to provide a safe work environment to its workers. To that end, they should be compelled to provide safety gear for their workers."

When asked how individuals could take such proactive civic action, Louie responded, "Your presence gives weight to many issues affecting the community. Anyone can give testimony at a public hearing after filling out a form." In addition to attending and testifying at hearings, he suggested writing letters of support and simply passing on relevant information through word of mouth.

One of Louie's current projects involves increasing the availability of public parking in Chinatown. After finding illegal parkers on Hester Street in clear violation of No-Parking signs, he, as Chair of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, has proposed eleven changes to parking regulations to help the Chinatown business community. (To see how you can grow involved, see the list of parking regulations below, which includes a form letter to the New York City Department of Transportation.)

"I encourage your readers to get involved," he said. "It's a fulfilling way to spend your life. Start with your talents and where your love is. Join the YMCA if you love children, or the senior citizen's center if you care about the elderly. If you like teaching, volunteer to teach English to immigrants. Ask around, check the Chinese Yellow Pages, look at a list of nonprofits and see what inspires you."

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To support the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of NY, Inc. in changing parking regulations in Chinatown, please review this list of proposals. Below is a sample letter that can be sent to the New York City Department of Transportation.

PROPOSED PARKING REGULATION CHANGES
1. Howard Street - south side from Centre Street to Lafayette Street - 2 hour metered parking from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM
2. Lafayette Street - east side from Howard Street to Canal Street - 2 hour meters from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM. ? Currently, there are meters on the east side from Grand Street to Howard Street.
3. Bayard Street - south side from Baxter Street to Mulberry Street - 2 hour meters from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM
4. Bayard Street - north side from Mulberry Street to Bowery - 2 hour meters from 8:00 AM until 10:00 PM
5. Hester Street - both sides from Baxter Street to Centre Street - 2 hour meters from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM. - Currently, there are 2 hour meters on Hester Street from Mott Street to Baxter.
6. Baxter Street - both sides from Hester Street to Canal Street (excluding in front of the Most Precious Blood Church) - 2 hour meters from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM
7. Baxter Street - east side from Walker Street to Bayard Street - 2 hour meters from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM
8. Centre Street - west side from Howard Street to Grand Street - 2 hour meters from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM. - Currently, there are 1 hour meters from Canal Street to Howard Street.
9. Walker Street - both sides from Broadway to Baxter Street - 2 hour meters from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM
10. Worth Street - from Baxter Street to Centre Street - amend signage from "No Standing 7 AM - 7 PM except Sunday" to "No Standing from 7 AM to 7 PM Monday to Friday"
11. East Broadway - both sides from Catherine Street to Pike Street - 2 hour meters from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM


Hon. Iris Weinshall
New York City Department of Transportation
40 Worth Street
New York, NY 10013

Dear Commissioner Weinshall:

Since 9/11, it has been difficult for the Chinatown business community to survive. A common concern is that public parking is so limited. Any changes that can be made to increase public parking availability would be a tremendous help.
I have reviewed the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of New York's listing of proposed parking regulation changes and I am in full support of the proposal.
Your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

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