NY State Governor Cuomo Vetoes Bill to Collect Critical Information to Better Serve Asian Pacific American New Yorkers

New York, NY - CACF: the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families and our member organizations are deeply disappointed by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo's last-minute veto of a bill that would finally begin to acknowledge and collect accurate and critical information about the needs of New York's vibrant and diverse Asian Pacific American (APA) communities - the fastest growing groups in NY State. Bill A00677/S3662 required the collection of disaggregated data on APA communities across the State. Better data means a better chance for our communities to gain the critical resources they need to thrive in New York, which undoubtedly would create a positive impact across all of NY State.

After almost a decade of collaborative advocacy through CACF’s Invisible No More Campaign, New York was poised to be a leader in capturing the inequities and challenges faced by New York's APA communities. The Governor's veto of this bill, which had strong support from APA advocates and community leaders as well as the State legislature, conveys a lack of urgency to invest in the betterment of New York’s APA communities.

Vanessa Leung, Co-Executive Director of CACF, states, “Asian Pacific American New Yorkers demand a government that is able to understand and meet their needs. We acknowledge that Governor Cuomo values the intentions behind this bill and plans to begin work with State agencies on exploring ways to collect better data. But as advocates, we know that there is precedent for this work in other States and localities, and we have been open in our willingness to work with the State on this. And as New Yorkers, we hold our State accountable to having true progressive leadership.”

Anita Gundanna, Co-Executive Director of CACF, adds, “It is disappointing when APA communities continue to be marginalized and rendered invisible. CACF is committed to continuing the fight for better data - a better chance - for our communities to gain the resources they need to thrive in New York. We will continue to work in partnership with our members and partners and be up in Albany to speak out on the necessity of data disaggregation -- and to push for passage of a law requiring and specifying a timeline for disaggregated data to be collected for Asian Pacific American communities.”

Wayne Ho, President and CEO of the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) said, “CPC is deeply disappointed in the Governor’s decision to veto a bill that would provide critical racial and ethnic data on New York’s growing Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. AAPI advocates, organizations, business leaders, and community members have worked for years to pass this bill, which had overwhelming support from the State Legislature. An eleventh-hour veto represents a deliberate decision to further marginalize New York’s fastest growing racial group by denying disaggregated data collection that would ensure critical resources and services for the diverse AAPI community.”

Chhaya Chhoum, Executive Director of Mekong NYC, said, “Without data disaggregation, the Southeast Asian community will continue to be overlooked and made invisible by New York State despite our community's vital needs. After years of poverty, trauma, displacement, violence, high incarceration, and lack of social services in languages most comfortable for our communities, the governor is now telling us that he does not want to identify our community's needs or provide the services to best help our community.”

John Park, Executive Director of MinKwon Center for Community Action, stated, “We are dismayed by Governor Cuomo's veto of the Data Disaggregation bill, including the reasons outlined against adopting the bill at this time. The cost of being blind to the discrete levels of poverty, educational attainment, or the nuances of health issues including mental health, colon cancer, hepatitis B and many others are dramatically different within Asian American and Pacific Islander subgroups, and is far more costly than the expense of collecting additional data from State agencies that already collect other data. What is not measured cannot be managed, and choosing to be blind to the problem, and not having the tools to measure the real and significant differences between many Asian subgroups, continues to relegate those problems and our communities, as invisible.”

"If our communities are not identified and counted, they cannot be served. They become invisible. The many ethnicities the make up the pan-South Asian and Indo- Caribbean communities have been invisible for too long. We urge Governor Cuomo to reconsider signing the data disaggregation bill,” said Annetta Seecharran, Executive Director, Chhaya Community Development Corporation.