Over 80 Advocates Gathered in Brooklyn’s McKinley Park To Demand A Fair And Inclusive NYC Budget

NEW YORK (May 16, 2023) --  The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) and advocates from several prominent Brooklyn-based members of the 18% and Growing Campaign rallied at Brooklyn’s McKinley Park on Thursday to demand New York City Council invest in NYC’s AAPI communities. 

Over 80 advocates, service providers, and community members attended Tuesday’s rally, which was the first-ever 18% and Growing Campaign rally in Brooklyn, a borough that’s been home to a large and emerging AAPI community for decades.

“Over the course of the last 15 years, the 18% and Growing Campaign has been at the forefront of the push to get AAPI New Yorkers the resources and support they both need and deserve. Though persistent and harmful stereotypes like the model minority myth lead many to believe that all AAPI New Yorkers are thriving, the reality is quite different,” said CACF’s Co-Executive Directors Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung. “Enhancing programs like the AAPI Community Support Initiative will allow community-based organizations across the city to continue to improve and expand their programming for those who need language access support, mental health resources, and more. While there have been tremendous strides made when it comes to City Council support for our communities in recent years, we are reminded of just how much we still have to do – especially in terms of getting AAPI New Yorkers who are most marginalized the critical, culturally responsive support they need.”

First founded in 2008, the name of the 18% and Growing Campaign takes its name from the fact that AAPI New Yorkers now comprise more than 18% of the City’s population. Today, the 18% and Growing Campaign is a unified coalition of 90 AAPI-led and serving community-based organizations from across the five boroughs.

But despite the AAPI community’s expansive growth and development, funding for AAPI communities in New York City has historically lagged behind.

In order to get our communities the support they need, the 18% And Growing Campaign is advocating for the following critical funding needs:

• Enhance the AAPI Community Support Initiative to $7.5 million to expand social services by AAPI serving community-based organizations to address the fiscal equity needed to build bridges between culturally competent and linguistically accessible services and the most vulnerable AAPI New Yorkers.

• Enhance the Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund (CCNSF) to $7.5 million to provide capacity-building support to Black, Latinx, and AAPI-led community-based organizations.

• Enhance the Access Health Initiative to $4 million to support community-based organizations (CBOs) who provide education, outreach, and assistance to marginalized New Yorkers on how to access health care and coverage.

“Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders make up 18 percent of New York City’s population, yet our communities rarely receive the funding and support they need to thrive,” said CACF’s Director of Policy and Government Relations Felicia Singh. “As we continue to experience the economic and health-related consequences of the pandemic, it’s become clear that the city has to do more to increase access to mental health care, culturally responsive youth programming, and gender-based violence prevention programs. As budget negotiations continue to ramp up, we’re calling on City Council to continue to build on last year’s investment in our communities by supporting our proposal in full.”

Several members of 18% and Growing Campaign spoke at Tuesday’s rally, including Enas Almadwahi, Senior Community Liaison and HR Director at Arab American Association of NY (AAANY), Ashley Chen, Policy Fellow at Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), Somia El-Rowmeim, Executive Director at Women's Empowerment Coalition NYC, Erum Hanif, Chief Executive Officer, APNA Brooklyn Community Center, and Dr. Tim Law, Senior Consultant at Chinese American Social Services Center.

“APNA serves a large number of AAPI community members who are low income,  limited English proficient or Non-English Speaking. Oftentimes, these communities are not able to navigate the social services due to language, culture, and technological challenges. We help our clients to get access to the needed resources by providing culturally and logistically competent services,” said Erum Hanif, Chief Executive Officer of APNA Brooklyn Community Center. “New York City must invest equitable resources across AAPI community-based organizations so APNA and many other CBOs can continue providing the critical and much needed services and support to our communities.”

"With a city budget of over 100 billion dollars, it is unconscionable for New York City Council and Mayor Eric Adams to continue to limit funding for immigrant communities,” said Enas Almadwahi, Senior Community Liaison and HR Director, Arab American Association of New York. The Arab American Association of New York is proud to join our coalition partners at CACF and the 18% and Growing Campaign in the call for increased investment in council initiatives that support the well-being of AAPI communities, and we are hopeful that the FY24 budget will reflect the true needs of immigrant, AAPI, and all New Yorkers."

“New York City continues to struggle to get AAPI New Yorkers – many of whom are from immigrant and limited English proficient backgrounds – the resources they need to lead fulfilling and productive lives. To close that gap, resources must be allocated to community-based organizations like ours that have the trust and deep ties in the community to provide human services, health care, mental health supports, and racial literacy programming,” said Wayne Ho, President and CEO at the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC). “We join the 18% and Growing Campaign members to call on the City to enhance the AAPI Community Support Initiative to $6 million so that Asian American community members can receive culturally relevant and language-accessible services needed to not only survive but also thrive in these troubling times.”

Tuesday’s 18% and Growing Campaign rally was the third of four planned budget rallies across New York City. We will next rally on May 24 in Little Yemen in the Bronx. To RSVP, head here.

For more information, please contact Lakshmi Gandhi, CACF’s Senior Communications Coordinator, at lgandhi@cacf.org.

For more information, please contact Winnie Kong, CACF’s Communications Associate, at wkong@cacf.org.