Tag: Communities resist

Posted on

AABANY Congratulates Shekar Krishnan and Sandra Ung on Becoming New York City Council Members

The Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) congratulates Shekar Krishnan and Sandra Ung for being elected to the New York City Council. Both have been members of AABANY and continue to serve the AAPI community. The City Council made history by becoming the first New York City council with a majority of seats occupied by women (31 out of 51) and Adrienne Adams became the first black New York City Council Speaker on January 5th. 

Sandra has been elected to represent the 20th District of New York which covers Flushing, Mitchell-Linden, Murray Hill, Queensboro Hill and Fresh Meadows. She has committed her entire career to serving the Queens community. Sandra was most recently the Special Assistant to Congresswoman Grace Meng where she assisted local residents of Queens in navigating the complex government bureaucracy. Sandra also serves in a leadership role on the congresswoman’s re-election campaigns and as the Executive Director of Grace’s At the Table PAC, a political action committee dedicated to expanding women and minority representation in politics. 

Sandra’s government service and public interest experience includes: Special Assistant to the New York State Commissioner on Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation;  Legislative Assistant to former New York City Comptrollers Bill Thompson and John Liu; Chief of Staff to former New York State Assemblyman Jimmy Meng; and staff attorney to Sanctuary for Families, a non-profit organization that assists those impacted by domestic violence. She also worked as an associate attorney at Dorsey & Whitney. Sandra had previously served on the AABANY Board as Treasurer. 

Shekar has been elected to represent the 25th District of New York which covers Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. He made history by becoming one of the first South Asians elected to the New York City Council. Shekar co-founded Friends of Diversity Plaza. Located near Jackson Heights, Diversity Plaza has become a symbol of how public space can bring people together. It now serves a critical function in neighborhood organizing efforts and building solidarity across communities. Shekar has also engaged in inclusive political organizing and grassroots community dialogue in support of progressive causes.

Shekar is the co-founder of Communities Resist, a legal services organization that takes a community-rooted and intersectional approach to housing and racial justice in North Brooklyn and Queens. Shekar represents tenants and neighborhood coalitions in fair housing litigation and anti-displacement advocacy in some of the most gentrified neighborhoods in New York City. Shekar was an AABANY member and spoke on the Fall Conference panel: Fighting for Housing and Community Justice: The Role of Lawyers in the Movement.

Please join AABANY in congratulating both Shekar and Sandra for their election to the City Council. We thank them for their commitment to public service and we wish them every success as they begin their terms as City Council members.

Posted on

In the News: AABANY Member Lina Lee Comments on Hurricane Ida Basement-Flooding Deaths

In early September, Hurricane Ida made landfall in New York City and left countless individuals to suffer the aftermath of flooded basements. A closer look into the eleven basement-flooding deaths reveals that a majority of them were Asian residents. A number of factors played into this tragedy including a lack of affordable housing, climate change, and pandemic change. These issues are prominent among low-income Asian immigrants who resort to illegal basement apartments that are deemed to have unsafe living conditions. 

“Realistically, a lot of these tenants would have family members, many who are clustered into very, very small rooms,” said Lina Lee, executive director of housing justice nonprofit organization Communities Resist. “When you have these natural disasters, there’s obviously going to be really a life-and-death situation, and when you have very limited or no access to leave your living space, these families really had no way out.”

Lee continues, “They cluster in small communities where they are able to access people who speak the same language, who are from the same culture and are living in the same conditions that they have to live in. For them, they have nowhere else to live with, except those small pockets in Queens.” 

Punishing tenants is not an ideal solution. Lee said reporting landlords for housing violations enforces building codes which could prompt agencies to issue a vacate order and inadvertently force a tenant to move out.The Mayor proposes an emergency warning system for basement-dwellers but the victims’ families are not convinced. 

To read the full NBC News article, click here. 

Lina Lee will also be the moderator for a program titled “Fighting for Housing And Community Justice: The Role of Lawyers In The Movement” at AABANY’s Fall Conference on Saturday, October 23. Click here for more information.