26 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 6, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Candidate introduces proposal for city response to help vacated tenants
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
In the weeks that followed an eightalarm
fi re that destroyed a Jackson
Heights apartment building on April 6,
displacing more than 150 families, the
city’s response has come under scrutiny.
According to the Red Cross, nearly 500
people were made homeless by the blaze
and while some found shelter with relatives
or friends, 98 families required
emergency lodging from the city.
Emergency hotel stays were set to expire
April 20 but were extended an extra two
months until June 20. On Friday, April
30, Shekar Krishnan, a candidate for City
Council in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst,
released a comprehensive housing policy
proposal to demand accountability from
the city government and ensure it provides
emergency services to help tenants
vacated from their homes due to fi res,
landlord property destruction, or other
forms of tenant harassment.
“Over the course of my years as a lawyer
for housing justice, I have unfortunately
seen far too many tenants displaced by
vacate orders and fought alongside them
in lengthy battles to ensure they return
home,” Krishnan said. “A vacate order is
when the city determines that a building
is unsafe to live in, and it mandates that all
the tenants immediately leave. It can happen
in the case of fi re — like at the 89th
Street building in Jackson Heights recently
— or when a landlord has rendered the
building uninhabitable through property
destruction or cutting off essential services
like heat or hot water.”
Krishnan added that recent crises in
neighborhoods across the city have demonstrated
how “underprepared” the city is
in that regard and that a plan for “decisive
and comprehensive action” from the New
York City government is necessary to support
tenants, prevent homelessness, and
protect the community at risk of displacement.
Among other things, Krishnan’s
proposed policies would provide local
temporary housing for vacated tenants in
their own communities, instead of elsewhere,
and force landlords to comply with
strict timelines for repairs or automatically
lose their building to an Article 7A administrator
with full city funding and support.
Krishnan’s proposal to help vacated tenants
would also fund language-accessible
services that are most urgently needed
when they are forced from their homes.
“When tenants are forcibly displaced
from their homes because of vacate
orders, it is a moment of crisis for their
families and their community,” Krishnan
said. “Our city government should be prepared
to act quickly in these moments,
and address the urgent needs that such
displacement creates.”
Krishnan said these actions are key to
supporting tenants and community-led
decision-making and organizing eff orts
and to fulfi lling the city’s responsibility to
New Yorkers in times of housing emergencies.
QNS reached out to City Hall and is
awaiting its response. Read Krishnan’s full
planhere.
Liu bill would require state public schools to teach Asian American history
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@schnepsmedia.com
@jenna_bagcal
A Queens lawmaker recently introduced
a bill requiring all New York
state public schools to teach students
the historical and civic impact of Asian
Americans.
Under legislation S.6359 sponsored
by Senators John Liu,
Toby Ann Stavisky, Jeremy
Cooney, Andrew Gounardes,
Brian Kavanaugh and Kevin
Th omas, the instruction on
Asian American impact would
be required at the elementary
and high school levels following
the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes
across the state and the nation.
The curriculum would
come directly from the
Board of Regents and
State Commissioner
of Education, which
would create a new
course of study highlighting
Asian American contributions,
struggles and accomplishments throughout
history.
“Asian Americans have long been
caught between the pernicious perpetual
foreigner syndrome and the seemingly
benign but truly destructive model
minority myth,” Senator Liu said. “Th at
my preceding sentence requires a
long explanation to most people
clearly illustrates the omission
of Asian American
presence in the teaching
of American history and
related topics in our public
schools. Amid the onslaught of anti-
Asian hate, assault and killings, this legislation
is necessary to remove the cloak
of invisibility that Asian Americans have
long endured in order to truly achieve
equal opportunity, equal treatment and
equal protection. Only then can Asian
Americans experience safety and security
in the long run.”
According to reports, New York state
and the United States at large do not have
offi cial curricula centered on the history
of Asian American and Pacifi c Islander
(AAPI) communities. Much of the textbooks
erase the impact Asian Americans
have had on the state and country and
the discrimination they have faced in the
United States. Th e lack of understanding
led to increased violence and hate crimes
against Asian Americans, which grew
exponentially during COVID-19.
“Th e story of the importance Asian
Americans as part of American history
has been ignored for too long.
Th e signifi cant impact of the
Asian American community
should be taught in our
schools. It is time we create a more wellrounded
and inclusive curriculum that
better represents everyone who helped
build this country and move our society
forward. I speak from the perspective of
a former high school social studies teacher,”
Stavisky said.
Th e new legislation would ensure that
Asian American contributions are taught
in the state’s schools, fostering respect and
understanding for these communities and
allowing the communities to see themselves
refl ected as important parts in the
fabric of American history.
Assembly members Rob Kim and Yuh-
Line Niou will introduce the same bill in
the Assembly this week.
“Asian Americans are as much a part
of the fabric of our country as any other
community in America,” Kim said. “Th is
legislation will ensure that students in
New York understand the history, contributions
and sacrifi ces of our community
and help them understand our essential
place in this country. I look forward to
working with Senator Liu to pass this bill
in our respective chambers.”
Photo courtesy of Senator Liu’s
offi ce
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
City Council candidate Shekar Krishnan’s housing justice policy plan details needed emergency
services following an eight-alarm inferno on 89th Street.
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