Brooklyn, NEW YORK (May 23, 2024) -- Dozens of Brooklyn-based advocates and community members rallied with Coalition for Asian American Children and Families’ (CACF) 18% And Growing Campaign on Thursday to call on New York City Council to support a budget that supports the needs of the borough’s growing Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

Speakers from CACF, Homecrest Community Services, Apna Brooklyn Community Center, the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn, and Raising Health braved the stormy weather in order to highlight the tremendous growth of Brooklyn’s AAPI population over the last decade and the need for funding for linguistically and culturally accessible services to follow suit.

“Currently, the AAPI community is by percentage the fastest growing group in New York City, nearly doubling every decade since 1970 and making up 18% of the population. Unfortunately, current levels of public funding for the AAPI community remain disproportionate to our community’s expansive   growth and needs,” Felicia Singh, CACF’s Director of Public Policy and Government Relations told the crowd. “In Fiscal Year 2024, we are hoping for an enhancement to critically invest in over 90 AAPI led and serving community- based organizations that provide culturally responsive and linguistically accessible direct services to the hundreds of thousands of AAPI New Yorkers that reside in New York City.”

The name of the 18% and Growing Campaign hails from the fact that AAPI New Yorkers comprise more than 18% of the City’s population, and are the fastest growing racial community in New York City, State, and the country at large. Despite the AAPI community’s expansive growth and development, funding for AAPI communities in New York City has historically lagged behind. In Fiscal Year 2024, New York City invested less than 6% of total public dollars in AAPI communities of a $107 Billion City Budget. With a total population of over 1.2 Million AAPI New Yorkers, the budget unfortunately only invests $0.89 per capita which does not include undocumented and asylum seeking New Yorkers.

Throughout the rally, speakers centered the main points of the 18% and Growing campaign’s budget ask, which are:

• 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.

“We are 18 percent of New York City’s population, yet our community receives just a fraction of the funding we need,” said Eric Yan, Operation Support Specialist of Homecrest Community Services.

Those sentiments were echoed by others throughout the morning, as service providers highlighted the increased need for in-language, culturally affirming services in particular.

“We are here to demand that the City invests in the 90+ community-based organizations like Apna, so that we can continue to represent marginalized New Yorkers,” said Erum Hanif, the CEO of Apna Brooklyn Community Center.

Others demanded New York City acknowledge how funding levels have not kept up with the sharply increased demand for services. “As our numbers increase, so do our needs, especially in regard to health care.” said Pekey Chen, a Health Navigator at the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn. “Groups like ours are struggling to meet this growing demand.”

This was echoed by Ekram Alrowmeim, a Community Building Partner at Raising Health. “Like so many other organizations, Raising Health provides linguistically sensitive services to our community,” she said. The City Council-funded AAPI Community Support Initiative has allowed us to provide these essential services to our communities.”

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