The Asian American Federation held a ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of its new Flushing office Thursday (Photo courtesy of the Asian American Federation)
May 27, 2022 By Czarinna Andres
The Asian American Federation held a ceremonial ribbon cutting Thursday to mark the opening of its new Queens office in Flushing.
Several elected officials were on hand to participate in the ceremony that was held during AAPI heritage month, a time when the public highlights the successes of Asian Americans.
The new office, located at 158-08 Northern Blvd., will offer support to the AAPI community as well as thousands of Asian-American business operators in the borough. The organization, which has an office in Manhattan, says it will be in a better position to serve Queens residents with the opening of the Flushing location.
“We are thrilled to be opening a physical location in Queens, allowing us to expand our outreach and support services to one of the most diverse places in the world,” said Jo-Ann Yoo, Executive Director of the Asian American Federation.
“As our community overcomes the challenges of the pandemic and the ongoing anti-Asian hate crisis, small businesses and community-based organizations remain the vital backbone of our community,” Yoo said. “We look forward to working even more closely with them and our elected officials in order to get the support the Asian community needs.”
Since March 2020, over 2,700 incidents of anti-Asian hate, including several heinous murders have been recorded in New York City by AAF, Stop AAPI Hate, NYPD, and CCHR. However, the number of incidents may likely be much higher as these bias incidents are significantly underreported.
Many of the high-profile incidents have been perpetrated by mentally ill homeless men.
“I am excited and thrilled that the Asian American Federation is expanding to Queens,” said U.S. Rep. Grace Meng. “So many in the Asian American community call our borough home and this new location will help the Asian American Federation do an even better job in fighting for Asian Americans living and working in our local neighborhoods.“
The opening was also celebrated by State Sen. John Liu.
“The Asian American Federation is a renowned community-based organization that is frequently among the first to stand up for the rights of AAPI….This new headquarters will provide on-the-ground support services and community programming that will serve a critical need throughout Queens.”
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