Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said, “The Assembly Majority stands with Asian Americans in the fight to end the pandemic-fueled hate that is devastating our communities. My colleagues and I fought to ensure our budget last year included the funding necessary to take on this abhorrent rise in hate crimes and help bring peace to New Yorkers, and especially our Asian American friends and neighbors. I wish everyone a happy and healthy new year.”
Senator John Liu said, “The AAPI community has been the target of relentless hatred, bigotry, and violence for the last two years, and we desperately need resources that would address the root cause of these attacks. While we are grateful to see the implementation of last year’s $10 million budget allocation, the siege against Asian Americans continues unabated, as does our need for additional resources. We must address a range of needs such as community safety, services for youth and senior citizens, mental health support for Asian New Yorkers, and the implementation of AAPI curriculum in public schools.”
Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou said, “Our Asian American communities are facing a crisis of anti-Asian hatred and violence. We are frightened. We are angry. Most of all, we have asked our government for real, tangible help to ensure AAPI New Yorkers can feel safe in their own city. I applaud Governor Hochul for distributing these much needed funds to the Asian American community organizations working every day to combat hate and deter violence. This is a great start, but we can and must do better. I urge my colleagues in Albany to support additional resources our community so desperately needs.”
Executive Director of the Asian American Federation Jo-Ann Yoo said, “We thank Governor Hochul for her investment and commitment in providing the resources that New York’s Asian American community needs now more than ever. With the tragedies that our community has experienced since the start of the pandemic, and painfully so over the last few months, many Asian Americans are fearful for their own lives when stepping out of their homes. Governor Hochul’s leadership shows that our voice is not going unheard as we ask for support to overcome this trauma. Today’s announcement is the start of much work to be done, and we look forward to working with the Governor and State and City elected officials to ensure that New York’s Asian American community is protected and given the resources to preserve past this crisis.”
Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung, Co-Executive Directors of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families said, “The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families is so grateful to the Governor’s Office for their support of our innovative healing-centered youth programming to address the social emotional needs of our young people. Through this crisis intervention funding, CACF with 8 of our organizations have collaboratively developed a curriculum to support young people’s healthy sense of self, community connection and belonging, and self-agency. We appreciate our partnership with the State and look forward to sharing the positive impact this funding is having.”
President & CEO of the Chinese-American Planning Council Wayne Ho said, “We would like to thank the Governor’s Office and State legislators for critical funding to support the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. The increase in anti-Asian violence and hate combined with the economic devastation of the pandemic have left our community in crisis. In the past year, CPC has served over 125,000 New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds through our essential services, financial assistance, and pandemic relief efforts. CPC looks forward to receiving this funding from the State to continue addressing our community members’ health, economic, and safety needs.”
