Michael Blake believes that how a city treats its diverse communities defines its values. New York City’s fast-growing Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities deserve full representation, cultural safety, language access, and economic opportunity. From Filipino frontline healthcare workers to Bangladeshi small business owners to Pacific Islander families, AAPI New Yorkers contribute deeply to the social and economic life of the city, but remain underrepresented in power and underserved by public investments. This plan is a blueprint to center equity, belonging, and justice for AAPI New Yorkers across all five boroughs. Grounded in community voice and lived experience, the AAPI Policy Plan guarantees action, not just acknowledgment, and aims to build a New York City where AAPI voices shape government, not sit on its margins.
AAPI New Yorkers now represent over 16% of the city’s population, yet they receive only a fraction of the city’s budget allocations. One in four AAPI residents live in poverty, with some groups facing even higher rates, 32% for Bangladeshi and 29% for Pakistani communities. Filipino Americans, the fourth-largest AAPI subgroup in NYC, continue to face invisibility in government data and funding. More than 134,000 public school students are English Language Learners, with over 20% of them from AAPI and Middle Eastern backgrounds. Despite these numbers, language access remains inconsistent, and anti-Asian hate incidents continue to rise. Without disaggregated data, targeted funding, or intentional outreach, the AAPI community continues to be overlooked in policymaking, placing entire communities at risk of exclusion, violence, and underinvestment.
Key Policy Actions:
Affirm inclusion, language access, and safety as basic rights for AAPI New Yorkers. End invisibility through budget equity, disaggregated data, and inclusive governance. Expand economic opportunity, immigrant protections, and culturally responsive public services.
Key Policy Actions:
Key Policy Actions:
Key Policy Actions:
Key Policy Actions:
Key Policy Actions:
Key Policy Actions:
Key Policy Actions:
Michael Blake will appoint a Senior Advisor to the Mayor for Equity and AAPI Affairs to lead this work across city government. We will no longer silo AAPI equity as an outreach task. It will be embedded in policy, budgets, staffing, and oversight. With deep partnerships across communities, from Elmhurst to Sunset Park, Richmond Hill to Woodside, we will end invisibility and create systems where AAPI New Yorkers are seen, protected, and empowered.
Sources:
Coalition for Asian American Children and Families – https://www.cacf.org
Filipino American Democratic Club of New York – https://www.filamdemsny.org
Emgage Action – https://www.emgageaction.org
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum – https://www.napawf.org
Asian American Federation – https://www.aafederation.org
Pew Research Center – https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/29/key-facts-about-asian-americans/
National Equity Atlas – https://nationalequityatlas.org
Urban Institute – https://www.urban.org
NYC Comptroller AAPI Reports – https://comptroller.nyc.gov
Center for American Progress – https://www.americanprogress.org