CACF’s Invisible No More campaign and Councilmember Shekar Krishnan Celebrate Historic Passage of Int 1134
Ahead of the City Council’s passage of Intro 1134, CM Krishnan and CACF gathered in support of harmonizing race and ethnicity data collection
Members of CACF’s Invisible No More campaign pose for a photo ahead of Wednesday’s vote on Int 1134.
New York, NY (October 29, 2025) — On Wednesday, October 29th, the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), Councilmember Shekar Krishnan, and community leaders from CACF’s Invisible No More campaign rallied in support of Int 1134 before its passage in the City Council by 46 votes, a veto proof majority.
Int 1134 is a historic piece of legislation that would establish and harmonize race and ethnicity data collection and reporting standards across NYC’s seven largest agencies, bringing increased representation to NYC’s diverse communities and allow policymakers and elected officials to provide more targeted services for New York's diverse communities. For the first time, our city will require every major agency to collect and report disaggregated race and ethnicity data — making visibility a matter of law, not choice.
NYC agencies will now be required to collect and report race and ethnicity information for 7 groups (American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Middle Eastern or North African, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and White), and more significantly, requiring at least 12 detailed subgroups for each category and providing community members whose identities are not represented on the form will now have write-in options to self-describe themselves.
“CACF and our Invisible No More campaign are proud to have worked side by side with Councilmember Krishnan to create, advocate for, and pass Int 1134. This revision bill is a critical first step toward ensuring equitable resources and policies for all of our communities,” said CACF’s Co-Executive Directors Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung. “Strong, precise data on our diverse communities is essential to creating policies that benefit the growing needs of New York’s diverse communities — especially when it comes to health care, education, and language access. But our work does not stop with the passage of this bill. CACF will continue to fight to ensure that this legislation becomes law and that New York City’s largest agencies implement it fully.”
“New York City prides itself on being diverse, but we don’t have the data to back it. Our communities, especially our AAPI communities, are treated as a monolith. But after today, that will no longer be the case because the New York City Council is passing my legislation, Intro 1134, and putting an end to city agencies lacking data that is inclusive of the diversity of our city. As the first Indian American elected to City Council, I’m proud to be able to usher in meaningful reform like this, ensuring that all our voices are in the room when the government makes critical decisions that impact all of us,” said Councilmember Shekar Krishnan, District 25.
“Intro 1134 will help ensure every community in our diverse city receives the resources it needs. By requiring agencies to collect more detailed data on race and ethnicity, we’re taking a critical step toward transparency, accountability, and equity for all New Yorkers,” said Councilmember Lincoln Restler.
“Standardized, detailed, disaggregated data is essential to understanding the true diversity of our communities and meeting their needs. This legislation is a major step forward for equity in New York City, ensuring that every community is seen, counted, and served with greater accuracy and fairness,” said John J. Chin, Dean at CUNY Asian American/Asian Research Institute (AAARI).
"Asian New Yorkers are an incredibly diverse community. We hail from over 30 different countries and speak 50 different languages, but this diversity is often not captured in the data New York City collects," said Andrew Sta. Ana, Deputy Director of Advocacy and Research at the Asian American Federation. "The 'Asian' category often hides disparities within specific ethnic groups and paints an inaccurate picture of how our communities are doing in terms of poverty rates, education levels, SNAP enrollment, and other key indicators. That's why Int. 1134 and data disaggregation is so important. As the only Asian-serving Census Information Center in the Northeast, AAF has long been committed to producing research and sharing data for over a dozen Asian ethnic groups. Better data helps us tell the stories of all Asian New Yorkers and better serve our communities' unique needs."
“We are grateful to the City Council for championing the collection of accurate and detailed data collection across city agencies, which will help ensure that all of our varied communities are heard and receive the resources they require to thrive,” said Thomas Yu, Executive Director at Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE). This is a critical issue for our Asian American communities and for many other communities who contribute to making New York a vibrant and dynamic city.”
“Int. 1134 is about making sure our communities are finally seen for who we are. Too often, our needs are overlooked—our families are trying to stretch one meal into two, our students are struggling in classrooms without the right resources, and policy decisions are built on stereotypes that erase our diversity,” said Kimberly Gee Powell, Executive Director of Asians Fighting Injustice. “At Asians Fighting Injustice, we see these gaps every day in our work to fight food insecurity and education inequity. When our communities are forced into a monolith, it hides the truth about where help is needed most. With better, disaggregated data, we are able to identify which neighborhoods are struggling, connect families to resources that honor their language and culture, and tailor our programs to meet people where they are.”
"Today, the New York City Council made a historic decision on Intro 1134, the "Invisible No More Bill," which requires city agencies to collect detailed race and ethnicity data to improve representation for Asian American communities. This bill uses disaggregated data to ensure city resources reach underrepresented immigrant groups. Despite being home to the largest Indo-Caribbean foreign-born population in the U.S., New York City's data has often overlooked these communities. Immigrant neighborhoods like Ozone Park and Richmond Hill in Queens faced high COVID-19 rates, including ongoing domestic violence, heart disease, food insecurity, anti-Asian hate, and housing eviction crises. Still, data does not capture the challenges faced by Indo-Caribbean, Punjabi, Indian, Bengali, and Pakistani residents. This bill addresses these oversights and ensures that transnational communities are “Invisible No More,” said Mohamed Q. Amin, Founder and Executive Director of Caribbean Equality Project.
“The diverse Asian American community must have disaggregated data in order to address our growing needs, especially during this challenging time. Many of our community members risk losing public benefits due to federal budget cuts, and our City must remain steadfast in passing policies that are informed by disaggregated data," said Wayne Ho, President & CEO of the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC). "We urge every Council Member to support Intro. 1134 and to demonstrate unanimous commitment to data equity. Intro 1134 will mean that the Chinese American community will receive more resources and funding. We thank CACF and Council Member Krishnan for their leadership and look forward to working together to ensure the bill's swift implementation."
“Having served hard-to-reach immigrant communities for nearly 20 years, CIANA has witnessed the effects on populations that are left invisible and their identities minimized. We hope that the NY City Council will enact the Int. 1134 data collection bill that will improve NYC’s race and ethnicity data collection, provide more accurate race/ethnicity information, and enable NYC agencies and CBOs like CIANA to address the specific social and health needs of our diverse immigrant populations,” said Emira Habiby Browne, President at Center for the Integration and Advancement of New Americans, Inc. (CIANA).
“As an organization serving families with disabilities from diverse backgrounds, the Community Inclusion & Development Alliance (CIDA) applauds City Council for passing Int 1134. We believe this initiative represents an important step toward equity and accountability for all New Yorkers. This legislation will allow organizations like CIDA to provide more robust, evidence-based services, ensuring that the needs and voices of our communities are fully reflected in city data and decision-making,” said Young Seh Bae, Executive Director of CommunityCommuntiy Inclusion & Development Alliance (CIDA).
“Hispanic Federation is committed to data for equity — because disaggregated data is more than numbers; it’s visibility and power. For too long, the diversity within Latino communities and among multiracial New Yorkers has been hidden behind broad categories that erase our languages, heritages, and lived experiences. This bill changes that by giving our city the tools to see and serve people as they truly are,” said Ingrid Alvarez-DiMarzo, Vice President for Policy and Strategic Engagement at Hispanic Federation. ”When agencies understand the full makeup of our communities — from Puerto Rican and Dominican to Mexican, Colombian, and beyond — they can design health, education, housing, and economic programs that truly meet people’s needs. Accurate, detailed data doesn’t just benefit Latinos; it strengthens equity, accountability, and quality of care for everyone. Once we know exactly who we serve, we can serve with dignity, precision, and fairness.”
“As the largest Korean American nonprofit organization - with over 50 years of serving immigrants, seniors, workers, and families - KCS has seen firsthand how the absence of disaggregated date has contributed to chronic underfunding and unmet needs in our community. This bill is a powerful step toward restoring visibility and justice,” said Myoungmi Kim, President and CEO of Korean Community Services of New York (KCS). “When our communities are accurately counted, our seniors receive the care they deserve, our small businesses gain access to resources, and our families are no longer invisible in policymaking. KCS is proud to stand alongside our coalition partners to ensure that every community's unique story is honored and resourced.”
“Intro 1134 is about visibility and justice. As someone who’s organized in Queens for years, I’ve seen how our communities are often treated as a single story and how that erasure costs us,” said Rana Abdelhamid, Executive Director of MALIKAH. “When we have data that reflects our real lives, we can finally direct resources where they’re needed most, from families stretching one meal into two to students learning without the tools they deserve. This is how we build equity with care, precision, and dignity.”
“We proudly stand with CACF and the community coalition in support of expanding New York City’s data disaggregation law. For too long, disabled New Yorkers—especially those from Asian and other communities of color—have been invisible in the City’s data,” said Clement So, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Asian Deaf Association (MADA). “The NYC Data Disaggregation Revision Bill takes a crucial step toward ensuring that when the City reports on disability, it also reflects the full racial and ethnic diversity of our communities. This is about equitable representation and visibility for all New Yorkers, disabled and non-disabled alike. We won’t stop pushing for a more inclusive and accessible New York City.”
For decades, our most vulnerable community members have been invisible, all because we were all lumped into one ‘Asian’ box. This lack of good data means our city has been ignoring our communities’ diverse needs for far too long. You can’t fix what you can’t see,” said John Park, Executive Director of the MinKwon Center for Community Action, convener of APA VOICE. “Intro 1134, the ‘Invisible No More’ bill, is how we fix this. It’s a historic step that finally makes us visible by law. By forcing the city agencies to collect disaggregated data, we can prove the need for targeted resources, language-accessible outreach, and in-depth research for every single one of our communities, doesn’t matter which Asian country you are from. This isn’t just about numbers; it’s about dignity, representation, and basic fairness for all New Yorkers.”
“Too often, Arab and North African communities are erased in the data that shapes city policy. Intro. 1134 is a vital step toward recognizing all New Yorkers. When data reflects our true diversity, programs and resources can finally meet the real needs of our communities.” said Husein Yatabarry, Executive Director, Muslim Community Network (MCN).
"What gets counted matters, and our city’s policies are only as equitable as the data that informs them. Int. 1134 is a critical measure to ensure Asian American and Pacific Islander New Yorkers are accurately represented and their unique needs addressed." said Taina Wagnac, Director of State and Local Policy at the New York Immigration Coalition. "NYIC stands with CACF in correcting decades of invisibility and inequity in how our communities are represented. Until Afro-Caribbean, Indo-Caribbean, MENA, and all communities are counted and resourced — we won’t stop."
“Too often, Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander communities are grouped together in government data, masking the diverse experiences and needs of our many ethnic groups. This aggregation erases important differences among AAPI groups, where disparities in income, education, access to services, and language needs are significant. Having the City Council vote on and pass Int. 1134 is essential to ensuring City agencies collect and report data by ethnicity and language. Doing so will allow policymakers, advocates, and service providers to design solutions that meet the real needs of our communities. Int. 1134 will help ensure that the South Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities, as well as other groups who are often invisible in the data, will get the resources and services they need. Every community deserves to be seen, heard, and supported,” said Sonia Sisodia, Executive Director at South Asian Youth Action (SAYA).
Photos from CACF's Int. 1134 rally can be found here. Please credit CACF in all usages.
For more information or to be connected to a member of CACF's Data Policy Team, please reach out to Senior Communications Coordinator Lakshmi Gandhi at lgandhi@cacf.org.
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For any questions or to be connected with a member of CACF’s Education Policy team, please email Lakshmi Gandhi, CACF’s Senior Communications Coordinator, at lgandhi@cacf.org.
