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Finding A Path To South Asian American Community Development Chhaya CDC Addressing the Community Development Needs of South Asian Americans On behalf of the Board, staff, interns and volunteers of Chhaya Community Development Corporation (“Chhaya”), we are proud to present “Finding a Path to South Asian American Community Development.” South Asian Americans — immigrants and their children from the regions and border areas of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as well as the diaspora from the Caribbean and other areas — make up the second largest Asian immigrant community in the city. This community is also one of the fastest growing new immigrant populations with urgent needs in the areas of housing, immigration and economic development. Chhaya was established in October of 2000 as an affiliate of Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), a 28-year-old leading community development organization serving Asian American populations in New York. Chhaya’s mission is to support and advocate for housing and community development needs of the South Asian American communities regardless of class, caste, country of origin or religious affiliation. Further, Chhaya seeks to leverage existing resources by learning and working with existing organizations to establish equal access to systems of support and to promote civic participation. Broadly, Chhaya also seeks to collaborate with other ethnic and minority populations to further better understanding among these communities. Since September 11th, the already existing housing discrimination, job discrimination and hate crimes have all been exacerbated and have deeply affected the South Asian community both economically and socially. The events following the tragedy of World Trade Center highlights the need for the South Asian community to come together as a strong voice against racism that has lead to the unfair victimization and even death of innocent people from the community. The challenges ahead are great. As a new organization, success is dependent on partnerships, collaborations and innovative strategies geared towards working together as a diverse community. It is in this spirit that we established Chhaya, and we hope to continue to develop in this direction. At this critical juncture in our community’s history in New York City and the U.S., investment in support services for South Asian Americans has never been more vital. We hope that this research will result in direct action and help to define some possible strategies. Sincerely, Asad Mahmood Vanitha Venugopal Seema Agnani Boardd President Board Vice President Managing Director Finding A Path To South Asian American Community Development A Report on the Housing and Community Development Needs Assessment of South Asian Americans in New York City Report By Chhaya Community Development Corporation Data Analysis Chhaya CDC Board of Directors Kimberly Gester | New School for Social Research Asad Mahmood | Board President, Director of Deutsche Bank Content Christopher Kui | Board Chairperson, Executive Jennifer Sun | Columbia University Director of Asian Americans for Equality Vanitha Venugopal | Board Vice President, With special thanks to the following individuals who Associate Program Officer of Surdna Foundation assisted and advised in our research Lopa Kolluri | Board Treasurer, Senior Finance > Asad Abidi Service Consultant of the Fannie Mae Foundation > Asaghar Choudri > Balji Shastri Chhaya CDC Staff > Chaumtoli Huq Seema Agnani | Managing Director > Mohammad A Quayyum Oisika Chakrabarti | Communications, > Francis Lam Outreach and Intake Coordinator > Monami Maulik Kaveena Singh | ESL Instructor > Peter Lobo > Alex Schwartz Study and Conference Supporters > Premanauth Singh > Asian American Federation of New York > Tanvi Tripati > Citizens Committee for New York > Mansoor Kahn > Fannie Mae Foundation > Parag Khandhar > MetLife > Mala Desai > MCI WorldCom Cover Design and Page Layout | Julie Chi Chhaya CDC Supporters 2001 Top and Bottom Photographs on Cover | Jaishri > Asian Americans for Equality Abichandani > Deustche Bank Copy and Production Editor | Alice Finer > Office of the Queens Borough President Claire Shulman > United Way of New York City Table of Contents I. Executive Summary II. Recommendations III. Historical Background of South Asian Americans IV. Immigration of South Asian Americans to the U.S. V. Data Collection VI. Demographics of South Asian Americans VII. Housing profile of South Asian Americans in New York City VIII. Social Service and Community Development Needs IX. Conclusion X. Appendix Finding A Path To South Asian American Community Development Research and Survey Team Seema Agnani Asma Bajwa Chowdury Bindhu Mehra Debanuj DasGupta Deepa Ratwani Kuhali Kundi Navita Kumari Rawnak Afrose Riffat Rahman Roushan Rahman Satish Chandra Sunita Thakkar Vishal Gupta 1 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY development needs of South Asian Americans in several ways. First, Chhaya launched a Community In popular culture and public policy, South Asian Development Forum Series to discuss housing Americans1 tend to be portrayed or perceived as a issues, such as tenant rights, homeownership and homogeneous group. In reality, the South Asian housing discrimination, with South Asian American American community is extremely diverse with residents in Queens. Second, Chhaya conducted this linguistic, regional, social, political and religious Needs Assessment to more precisely define the differences. Recognizing these differences is critical housing and service needs in New York City. This for successfully enhancing the civic participation and research is not a comprehensive look at all of the economic integration of South Asians into U.S. community development needs of this community society. but rather focuses heavily on issues relating to housing. The results of this survey and research will The South Asian American community in New York serve to inform Chhaya’s service and advocacy City is the second largest Asian American Group programs. Moreover, it aims to serve as an after the Chinese. As a relatively new immigrant invaluable and heretofore nonexistent resource for community, it faces some of the most urgent the larger community development and policy- housing and social service needs. Yet there are only a making field. few organizations with the capacity and resources to address and advocate for South Asia Americans in a Methodology comprehensive way. In this report, we summarize information collected from existing data sources, such as the 1990 and A community concentrated primarily in Queens, 2000 U.S. Census, the 1996 and 1999 Housing and South Asian Americans have been severely impacted Vacancy Survey (HVS) and the New York City by the city’s affordable housing shortage. South Department of City Planning. Asian American renters face an extremely high risk of homelessness. Many live in poor and overcrowded Chhaya CDC also gathered additional quantitative housing conditions, both despite and as a result of data by using a grass-roots approach. Through city crackdowns on illegal basement and cellar outreach to South Asian organizations, random conversions into unsafe housing. While these surveying along South Asian American commercial crackdowns rightfully eliminate unsafe housing, they corridors, and community events, it administered a shrink the housing stock and provide no alternatives, housing and community needs assessment. Reaching forcing some of the desperate into even worse an estimated 500 South Asian Americans at 18 conditions. venues in the boroughs of Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, we gathered 300 In October 2000 Asian Americans for Equality completed surveys. Interviews and translations were (AAFE) launched Chhaya Community Development provided as needed in Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu Corporation (Chhaya) to extend its community and and Gujarati. economic development work to include the South Asian American community. Chhaya’s name means However, because numbers alone can not tell the “shelter,” which embodies its mission to address the complete story, Chhaya also organized, conducted housing, community and economic development and collected qualitative data from testimonials at a needs of South Asian Americans and other Town Hall Meeting at Queens Borough Hall and immigrant communities in New York City, regardless four Focus Group Discussions held in Astoria and of class, caste, country of origin or religious Jackson Heights. These forums, some conducted affiliation. with advocates working in the area of domestic violence, focused primarily on the housing Existing data on the South Asian American challenges that South Asian Americans are currently community is typically aggregate (often including facing. (See Appendix) Afghanis, Bangladeshis, Indo-Caribbeans, Indians and Pakistanis) and therefore incomplete in Demographics documenting its diversity — ethnically, linguistically, South Asian Americans are the fastest growing and educationally and economically. As a result, the data second-largest Asian ethnic group in New York City. for analyzing and interpreting the impact of diversity From 1990 to 2000, the number of South Asian on housing and economic opportunities, public Americans grew by 111 percent to nearly 220,000. policy and social services has been inadequate. The majority of the South Asian American Furthermore, there is a lack of resources and analysis population in New York City is made up of Indians on housing conditions in the South Asian American and Indo-Caribbeans, Pakistanis,
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