Asians are a Growing Presence in More than Half of City Council Districts
New York City: The Asian American Federation (AAF) has released profiles of all 51 City Council Districts on the Asian community, which are available on their website in the Census Information Center (https://www.aafederation.org/cic/briefs/NYCcouncil2016.pdf). Generally, the profiles show that Asians now make up 10% or more of the residential population in 26 City Council Districts. Using data from the 2013 American Community Survey, the profiles also illustrate that the Asian community is the fastest-growing race and ethnic group in New York City on a percentage basis; from 2010 to 2014, the Asian population in the city grew at an average annual rate of 2.7% while Hispanics, the next fastest-growing group, grew by less than half that rate, at 1.3%. Asians now comprise 15% of the city’s population, up from 11% in 2000.
While the Chinese community remains the largest Asian group in the city, making up 47% of the city’s Asians, the fastest-growing Asian groups are, in fact, from South Asia, including Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Nepalese immigrants. The ever-increasing diversity in the Asian community is also reflected in the variety of Asian languages spoken in the city. Over 16 Asian languages are commonly spoken by more than 2,000 speakers per language by those living in the city.
“Asians Americans reside in every neighborhood in New York City. We cannot look just at the traditional enclaves as community hubs. As Asian New Yorkers become more mobile, new hubs are being created,” said Jo-Ann Yoo, AAF’s executive director.
“The language and cultural diversity in the Asian community does present challenges for outreach,” said Howard Shih, AAF’s research and policy director. “However, the shared immigrant experience of the Asian community provides a basis for building bridges.”
Added Yoo, “As our May 2015 report revealed, the Asian American community received only 1.4% of the total dollar value of the city’s social service contracts from fiscal years 2002 to 2014. This means that there is a tremendous strain placed on our member agencies to provide vital services to our community’s most vulnerable residents. Case in point, the Asian population in the city is aging rapidly; from 2010 to 2014, the Asian senior population grew at an average annual rate of 6.6%. That’s because the wave of immigrants who came to the city after the immigration reforms of the 1960s is now reaching retirement age. The growing senior population is putting increasing strains on our senior-serving community groups, who are already resource-constrained to begin with. We need to recognize the growth of our community, and, together with our city leaders, build capacity to meet the growing needs of all Asian New Yorkers.”
CONTACT: Howard Shih
2123445878, Ext:219
