At the beginning of a new century, New York City is yet again a renewed metropolis, with the composition of its population drastically altered compared to a decade ago. Prominent among the many new immigrants to settle in the city are Asians. More than ever before, newcomers from Asia are choosing to live, work, and raise families in New York City.

The increase in Asian New Yorkers has added to the growing economy and cultural vibrancy of the city. But few people have a complete picture of what life is like for Asian Americans in New York. At a glance, it is hard to see whether the New York City glass is half-full or half-empty for Asian American families. There are Asian New Yorkers who are well to do, but many live in poverty. Some are among the city’s best educated, and yet a startling number are illiterate. While many Asians have adapted well to life in New York, so many others remain isolated and struggling to survive. 

The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families commissioned this report to present a clearer picture of the need for health care, child care, and youth programs in the Asian American community. This report is the result of a six-month effort to gather much of the existing data about the city’s Asian American families – who they are, where they live, and how they are faring. 

Across the United States and in New York City, Asian Americans are found on opposite ends of the spectrum. Common misconceptions characterize all Asian Americans as well-to-do and highly educated. In reality, Asian American ethnic groups are generally divided into “have” and “have-nots.” For the Asian American children whose families are among the invisible “have-nots,” the glass is half-empty. In New York City, 47.7 percent of Asian American children are born into poor or near poor families (1). In the city’s public high schools, one out of three Asian Americans students do not graduate with their class (2). Rates of depression are reported by providers to be high, and suicide is the third highest cause of death among Asian American young people aged 15 to 24 (3). Arrests among Asian American youth have increased far beyond increases in rates for other youth (4).

This report still has many gaps because very little local data is available on Asian Americans, particularly children. Asian Americans are frequently not included in research and data collection. When they are, the results are normally lumped into one undifferentiated group. Differences between the Asian ethnic groups can be sizable, yet available data is often aggregated.  

Only a few local agencies manage to separate Asians into a handful of subgroups, and these are usually inconsistent from agency to agency. The national census gathers data every 10 years about 11 subgroups of Asians, but even the census cannot fully describe the human service, educational, health care, and other needs and characteristics of this growing population. In addition, the data often do not differentiate between for eign-born and U.S.-born Asian Americans.

This report is a small step toward generating greater recognition of the breadth, complexity, and sheer magnitude of Asian New York – especially among policy makers and officials. While an exhaustive examination of Asian New York is beyond our scope, this report makes a case for Asian Americans to receive a fairer share of service dollars, more culturally and linguistically competent services, and better data collection and analysis. With nearly one-tenth of our city’s population now defining itself as Asian American, the time has long since arrived for government officials to reconsider the way they serve New York City’s communities.