Today is the one-year anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings, and our Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community is still under attack.

Just this week a 67-year-old Filipino woman was severely beaten – punched and stomped on more than 100 times – in the foyer of her Yonkers apartment building.

One year after eight people died in a shooting spree targeting three spas run by Asian Americans in metro Atlanta, we must not only recall those who were lost, but highlight the ongoing violence still affecting the AAPI community.

For these reasons I am very pleased that the NYS Assembly has responded to my request and has included $15 million in its proposed budget to address racism and discrimination.

I co-sponsored The Hate Crimes Analysis and Review Act which seeks to ensure that New York State collects and reports data on the sexual orientation, gender identity and racial or ethnic identity of victims and alleged perpetrators. This bill was signed into law in December 2021.

I rallied behind the AAPI Data Disaggregation bill, which was also signed into law in December 2021. This law will provide a clearer picture of the inequalities that exist across all groups, thereby identifying the challenges to address the structural barriers that certain AAPI subgroups face.

I also co-sponsor a current bill (A2508/S125) that would have schools incorporate hate crime education into the curriculum – teaching students from an early age to be accepting and inclusive of all and to identify and fight back against those who practice hate, discrimination and religious intolerance.

I will continue to take action to ensure that AAPI New Yorkers are fully seen and represented in our state's decision-making process.

We cannot let this horrific violence and harassment continue. If one group in our community is living in fear, we all are.