Among the constituents and elected officials who came out in support of City Council Member Carlos Menchaca’s (D-Sunset Park, Red Hook) re-election campaign gathering on Saturday was Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou (D-Lower Manhattan) whose controversial bill A07352 has received some push back from local lawmakers in neighboring districts.

The state measure requires the disaggregation of Asians and Pacific Islanders. The law will require the collection of certain demographic information by certain state agencies, boards and commissions –– distinguishing up to 23 different race and ethnic categories including, but not limited to, residents with Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese ancestry.

A version of the bill has passed the assembly three times before being rejected in the senate, and recently passed the assembly for a fourth time and has moved again to the senate.

Nancy Tong speaks about the disaggregation of Asians and Pacific Islanders bill at a meeting several weeks ago. Photo by Kadia Goba

In a previous KCP story on the issue, Nancy Tong, who is running in the neighboring Democratic primary for the 43rd City Council District seat and is the Democratic Leader of the 47th Assembly District, along with City Council Member Mark Treyger (D-Bensonhurst, Coney Island, Gravesend) and Assemblyman Bill Colton (D-Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Gravesend), questioned the bill saying if utilizing the data correctly it might be good, but cautioned if used incorrectly, it could further discrimination.

The issue is important not only in Menchaca and Tong’s districts, but all of Southern Brooklyn, which has seen an explosion in the Pacific-Asian population.

According to Niou’s New York Assembly webpage the bill is critical in it allows the state to focus on supporting the many immigrant communities, and it is difficult to do that without understanding the actual makeup of these groups here at home.

“Data disaggregation allows us to gather information on the many Asian American ethnic subgroups in our state, giving us the opportunity to ensure that each individual has a voice, and that resources are targeted efficiently where needed,” said Niou on the website.

From left are Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou and City Council Members Carlos Menchaca and Ydanis Rodriguez at Menchaca’s campaign gathering on Saturday.   Photo by Kadia Goba

At Menchaca’s gathering, Niou said her intention is to debunk the model minority stereotype and to bring awareness to the largely underrepresented Asian American community who live in poverty. She said the bill has previously passed the Assembly.

“Colton voted in favor of the bill three times before voting against it,” said Niou. “This is not a new bill.”

According to assembly records Colton co-sponsored and voted favorably for three previous versions of the bill. City Councilmember Ron Kim of Queens County, of whom Niou served as chief-of staff, introduced the original version of the bill in 2013 and again in 2015 and 2016.  All of which passed the Assembly but were rejected in the Senate. Colton has since opposed the bill during a 2017 vote of which Niou was the sponsor.

Colton said he changed his vote because Tong, his community relations director, had been contacted by constituents who were concerned that certain ethnicities would be excluded from specialized public schools in the city claiming over representation.

“There is always a problem with lack of diversity within those schools so rather than lowering the standards we should increase the preparedness for all children to attend the schools,” said Colton.

During last month’s press conference, Tong expressed concerns about the ambiguity surrounding bill A07352 and called for more clarity on the proposed legislation.  

“I personally have mixed feelings on the Asian American Data Disaggregation Bill,” said Tong. The district leader agrees with Niou in that the data could provide a better sense of where to target resources but remains concerned about discrimination if the policy extends to applications beyond the scope of what the original bill intends.

“The SUNY and CUNY system could potentially use data disaggregation during the college application process to potentially cause discrimination on student applicants. Employers for New York State could potentially use data disaggregation as a means of discrimination on potential employees,” said Tong.

“I applaud Assemblywoman Niou for bringing up the needs of the diverse Asian American community, as we must have a better means of identifying Asian Americans as a whole. However, I want to make sure that the data collected from the bill will only be used to identify the needs of communities without causing a system of discrimination of different types of Asians Americans we have in New York State,” she added.

Chinese-American attorney and City Council candidate Chris Miao

Chris Miao, an Asian American attorney opposing Menchaca in the upcoming primary, like the other lawmakers expressed his concern about where the data will be stored, but agreed with Niou that more data would be a benefit.

“I think it’s a great idea, said Miao. “There are certain sects within the Asian American population that are middle class or low-income, and there are certain communities that are still struggling.  So I think collecting more data on the specifics of Asian Americans from different countries would only help in terms of distinguishing who needs aid so that more resources can be dedicated to those specific groups.”