The Brief
- San Jose’s east side is getting funding for health care, food and the arts.
- San Jose’s City Council approved the funding on Tuesday in part for the Mexican Heritage Plaza.
- Community members are excited for this development and to see how the many impacts the neighborhood.
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose City Council on Tuesday afternoon unanimously approved a multi-million dollar boost for the city’s east side. In a community which leaders say has historically faced under-investment, the money will be used to improve community access to health care, food and the arts.
Funding for the arts
What we know:
The city was expected to approve a $3 million grant to expand services at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. The site of the Mexican Heritage Plaza has a long history in San Jose where César Chavez organized farmworkers in the 1960s. It has been a cultural hub of East San Jose, and is now expanding to a complex across Alum Rock Avenue to what is called “La Placita.”
The funding is going to the “School of Arts and Culture” which runs the Mexican Heritage Plaza and its programs. It will also include a 200-seat “black box theater” for performing arts which will host free and low-cost youth community programming, a health care center and a resource center for child care.
Local impact
What they’re saying:…