City Hall, NY, 04 March 2022: Today, New York City Council Members Linda Lee (D- Oakland Gardens) and Shaun Abreu (D- Upper Manhattan) were elected by their colleagues to serve as Vice-Chairs of the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus of the New York City Council.
“I’m so honored that my colleagues elected me to serve as the Vice-Chair for the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus alongside Council Member Abreu,” said Council Member Lee who is the first Korean American elected to City Council and Asian-American to represent District 23. “Especially at a time when the AAPI community feels threatened and under attack, we must send a message that everyone who calls this City home stands side-by-side with them in solidarity. We have a ton of work to do building bridges between our communities, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to build a more united NYC.”
Linda Lee will be the second Asian American City Council Member to serve on the Executive Committee of the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus, following former Council Member Peter Koo who served as the Treasurer of the Caucus until 2021.
Lee and Abreu succeed Council Members Francisco Moya and Farah Louis who served as Vice-Chairs of the Caucus from 2019-2021. The Caucus, whose 31 members make it the largest in the City Council, works to protect, advocate for, and empower residents and communities of color in New York City through legislation, public policy, and funding. The Caucus is tasked with submitting an annual list of funding priority recommendations to the New York City Council Speaker’s office so that the budget will address the needs of organizations who serve the Black, Latino. and Asian Caucus’ constituency. In Fiscal Year 2022, BLAC secured and distributed $16.3 million in funding for capital projects across the City. Additionally, the Caucus allocated $780,000 in funding as part of the Speaker’s Initiative to Address Citywide Needs to support services for seniors, workforce development, and mentorship programs for at-risk youth. BLAC also advocated for the creation of a new $4 million AAPI Community Support initiative to provide mental health services and literacy programs through culturally and linguistically competent non-profit groups, and fund anti-bias and hate crime-related funding.
Linda Lee represents the twenty-third Council District in Eastern Queens and serves as Chair of the New York City Council’s Committee on Mental Health, Addictions, and Disabilities. She also co-Chairs the New York City Council Queens Delegation. District 23 is the second-most diverse district in New York City, with approximately 45% of residents being of Asian-American background, predominantly split evenly between East Asian and South Asian communities.
Prior to taking office, Lee was the President/CEO of Korean Community Services, New York’s first community-based social service organization dedicated to serving the Korean-American community. KCS provides workforce development, senior care, healthcare, mental health, immigration, and other social services to thousands of clients daily, and since the pandemic began, KCS has been on the frontlines helping community members receive unemployment benefits, PPP loans, COVID tests, and vaccinations. Under Lee’s leadership, the White House named KCS as a Champion of Change in 2014 for its work around the Affordable Care Act. Lee also spearheaded the creation of the only State-licensed Article 31 Mental Health Clinic serving the Korean-American community operating in New York. Lee received her Master in Social Work from Columbia University’s School of Social Work, and her Bachelor of Arts from Barnard College. Lee also serves on the Committees on Aging, Contracts, Education, General Welfare, Parks and Recreation, Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Subcommittee on Senior Centers and Food Insecurity. -Press Release.