Through our membership in the APA VOICE Redistricting Task Force, AAFE is participating in public hearings intended to help decide the boundaries for state and federal legislative boundaries. The process is dependent on data from the 2020 Census.
AAFE Co-Executive Director Jennifer Sun testified at the Queens hearing of the New York State Independent Redistricting Commission, held virtually July 22. She spoke about our experiences in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst, neighborhoods which are divided among three separate state assembly districts:
Community needs in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst are aligned. Separate representation harms all of our communities by choking off resources for education, affordable housing, transportation and social services. By combining the communities of interest now in Assembly Districts 34, 35 and 39, we can take a major step towards a more equitable New York. A single, unified assembly district across these neighborhoods will help all of us provide comprehensive, culturally-sensitive and language-accessible services for immigrant New Yorkers to thrive.
You can read our full testimony below and watch the hearing on YouTube.
At the Manhattan hearing, held July 26, there was testimony from Justin Lee, an AAFE volunteer who’s the third generation of his family to live in Chinatown.
See what he had to say here:
