Asian-American groups are getting $20 million in the new New York State budget to fight an alarming tide of hate crimes that has shaken local communities.
The money in the $220 billion annual budget deal falls short of the amount Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) organizations had sought, but it doubles last year’s funding for the cause.
“The Asian American community has never been properly accounted for in the state budget,” state Sen. John Liu told the Daily News Sunday.
“The need is unprecedented because everybody is painfully aware of the anti-Asian hate that has accompanied COVID,” the Queens Democrat added.
Complaints of anti-Asian hate crimes more than tripled from 2020 to 2021, according to NYPD stats, a trend that seems likely to continue in 2022.
So far this year, the city has seen numerous horrifying crimes targeting victims of Asian descent.
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Michelle Go was fatally pushed to her death at the Times Square subway station in January. A South Korean diplomat was punched in the face with no provocation in Midtown in February, the same month that a homeless man went on a rampage of punching and shoving seven Asian women.
Not all the incidents have been officially deemed hate crimes, but they have caused fear and grief among AAPI communities.
With the state funding, groups affiliated with the Asian American Federation Associate, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families and others will teach self-defense classes, hold food and housing programs and undertake additional efforts, Liu said.
Although the groups asked the state for $64.5 million, Asian American Federation Associate Director Ravi Reddi said they welcomed the smaller sum.
“The state budget this year has taken important steps to help our community in this crisis,” Reddi said in a statement.
In the future, Liu said he wants the state to make an ongoing commitment to AAPI organizations.
“The needs are not one-time,” he said. “Part of what has made the Asian American community vulnerable to attacks in the first place is that there’s very little infrastructure to support members of the community in their ongoing insecurities.”
