Let me tell you, I am nobody's puppet.
— Nydia Velazquez
For small businesses to thrive, they require an environment that is conducive for growth.
For families to access affordable housing, they often need legal representation that takes their side against abusive landlords.
Nationally, more than one million Asian American entrepreneurs create jobs in their communities, helping fuel local commerce. In New York, we have seen firsthand how this community has helped drive our economy forward through hard work and ingenuity.
There are people out there who don't like me, and that's because I speak out the way I feel.
Fair and affordable housing is a basic right for all New Yorkers and all Americans.
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month provides us all an opportunity to reflect upon this community's many contributions and to celebrate its bright future.
Of course, preserving the American dream has always meant creating opportunity for the most recently arrived Americans - those who have come here from other parts of the globe to work hard and build a new, better life.
Too often, the landlord-tenant relationship is unbalanced with all the power on the side of unscrupulous landlords.
Historically and culturally, New York City and our entire nation simply would not be the same without the infusion of Asian traditions. Whether it is food, art, language or any other facet of cultural life, Asian Americans have made our city and our country stronger and richer.
