September 15, 2020

Flushing Mobility Collaborative Community Survey Launch

FLUSHING, NY — The Flushing Mobility Collaborative, comprised of six nonprofit organizations — Asian Americans for Equality, Child Center of NY, Chinese-American Planning Council, MinKwon Center for Community Action, Queens Public Library, and RIVER FUND — announced today that it is launching a community survey to better understand and solve the economic challenges in Flushing.

“I am thrilled to join the Flushing Mobility Collaborative in celebrating the launch of our community survey,” said Wayne Ho, President & CEO of the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC). “Since we started this work last year, CPC has worked with the collaborative to facilitate community-led efforts to better understand how to lift Flushing families out of poverty. As we weather the effects of this pandemic, we are mindful that COVID-19 has not only created unexpected economic hardships but also widened existing gaps for many Asian American, low-income, and immigrant families in Flushing. With this survey, CPC and the collaborative will get a better look at our community members’ current realities and empower them to create sustainable solutions. I am grateful to the members of the Flushing Mobility Collaborative, local community members and partners, and Robin Hood for making it possible to improve economic opportunity in Flushing.”

“Even as the physical doors to Flushing Library remain temporarily closed, the branch continues to serve as a vibrant virtual community hub, offering a range of programming online, from bilingual storytimes and cultural performances to Tai Chi classes to a Chinese language book club,” said Queens Public Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott. “We are excited to launch this survey with our community partners and hope it will deepen our understanding of the needs of Flushing residents – during COVID-19 and beyond — allowing us to provide quality resources and programs to help them be successful in their lives.”

“It has been an honor working alongside and learning from all the other organizations, community partners and members of The Flushing Mobility Collaborative,” said Nicholas Ferreira, Vice President of Youth Development of The Child Center of NY. “Today’s survey launch is an important step forward to learning even more about the needs and challenges facing so many families of Flushing. With COVID-19 exacerbating many of the existing impacts of poverty, this work is more urgent than ever. The insights gained from today’s survey launch will better support The Child Center and all our partners efforts to help the families of Flushing thrive.”

"Fighting poverty is more urgent than ever for low-income, immigrant neighborhoods like Flushing, where too many individuals and families are facing eviction, rising unemployment, and the shuttering of small businesses," said Jennifer Sun and Thomas Yu, co-executive directors of Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE). "The community survey is an important way for Flushing residents, workers, and small business owners to help the Flushing Mobility Collaborative and policymakers develop more inclusive safety nets and economic opportunity, removing barriers based on race, income, and immigration status."

"Flushing is a unique and dynamic neighborhood with its own set of social and economic drivers that often causes it to operate differently and independently from the rest of the City,” said John Park, Executive Director of MinKwon Center for Community Action. “The Flushing Mobility Collaborative, in partnership with the Robin Hood Foundation and a broad range of local residents and longtime community based organizations, launched a community survey today that will serve as a key tool to help end poverty and strengthen the local community in Flushing."


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