INTRO

Good afternoon!

My name is Sandra Ung, and I have the distinct honor of representing this community in the City Council.

THANKS 

I want to thank Glow Community Center for hosting today’s event, as well as the Youth Orchestra, the NY Korean Traditional Marching Band and the New York Guqin Center for their beautiful performances. These artists are evidence that Flushing is quickly becoming one of the art and culture centers of New York! 

REOPENING

It has been a busy first year in office, one that has not been without its challenges.

The first challenge came the day after I was sworn in, and that was reopening a district office that was closed for nearly two years due to the pandemic.

Physically reopening the office was important to me. I know that our district, which is majority immigrant and has a large senior population, needed a place to go and seek assistance. That’s why we were open on day 1.

Since we have returned to a full-time, in-person schedule, we have heard from literally thousands of you who have come to us with your issues and concerns. While I can’t promise that we solved them all, I know we have been able to help the many people who have called or walked into my office with everything from Lifeline applications to property tax exemptions for seniors.

I have also been focused on bringing services and resources to the people of District 20.

I allocated funding to provide pro bono legal assistance in my district office, including attorneys from Communities Resist, Queens Legal Services, CUNY Law School, and the CUNY Citizenship Now program, my co-host for an Immigration Assistance Event on Friday at the Flushing YMCA. I have a lawyer in my office nearly every day of the week providing different kinds of services, and encourage you to reach out if you have questions.

Supporting small businesses was one of my top campaign priorities. That’s why I’m proud that in partnership with the Queens Chamber of Commerce, twice a month a specialist from the Small Business Resource Network meets one-on-one with local business owners and advises them on everything from acquiring financing to growing their online presence.  

One issue many entrepreneurs bring up to me is dealing with fines. Representatives from the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings visit my office on a regular basis to help residents and business owners settle or contest a city summons.

In an immigrant community like ours where people too often neglect regular medical checkups, offering free health services is of paramount importance.

My office has co-hosted several wellness events, including free prostate screenings, a community health fair in Kissena Corridor Park, and a recent mental health workshop.

This weekend my office will be offering free flu and Covid booster shots.

That’s in addition to securing thousands of pieces of PPE and Covid test kits that were distributed across the district over the past year.

At two popular events over the summer, my office partnered with the Department of Environmental Protection to hand out 200 rain barrels. In the spring, we will be distributing inflatable dams to help mitigate flooding issues experienced by homeowners.

I also understand that not everyone can get to our office in downtown Flushing. So we have also hosted mobile office hours across the district – setting up in libraries in your area. We will be holding more in the near future so keep an eye out!  

CHALLENGE 1 – Fire

One major challenge that we faced was when tragedy struck our district. On the morning of March 17, a five-alarm fire tore through a building on Main Street. Thankfully, no lives were lost, but approximately 20 small businesses were destroyed.

Even before the fire was fully extinguished, I was looking for ways to assist our local business owners who lost everything.

I organized a Small Business Recovery meeting that was held right here at Glow just days after the fire.

Representatives from the Department of Small Business Services, Department of Buildings, Office of Emergency Management, FDNY, State Department of Financial Services and Small Business Development Center were on hand to share resources and assistance available to the impacted business owners.

Together with Asian Americans For Equality, we were able to create a $1 million fund to provide low-interest loans to help impacted business owners get back on their feet.

CHALLENGE 2 – BUSWAY

Even before taking office, I heard from the local business community regarding the impacts from the creation of the Main Street Busway that restricted cars from driving through the heart of Flushing 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

So I invited Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez to visit Flushing and see firsthand the many transportation issues facing our community.

We discussed a number of my concerns, including the economic hardships the Main Street Busway was having on our small business owners.

At my request and after nonstop negotiations, DOT agreed to reduce the hours of operation from 24 hours a day to just 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., allowing people who drive the opportunity to patronize our local businesses. This was a major step forward for our small businesses.

CHALLENGE 3 – Library 

Another major challenge was the closure of the Flushing Library in March 2020. We thought it would be a short-term loss for our community. Instead, it remained closed for over two years, a combination of necessary repairs and Covid.

As soon as I took office, I pressured the Queens Public Library to find a solution that would allow for the necessary repairs to be made, but also allow the public back into one of the busiest library branches in the entire country.

Working with QPL leaders, we arrived at a plan for the work to proceed while inviting library users back into the center of community life here in Flushing.

CHALLENGE 4 – Bland Houses 

When residents of an 82-unit building at the NYCHA Bland Houses lost their gas service at the beginning of May, they reached out to my office for help.

After a few months passed, residents grew increasingly frustrated cooking with hot plates, while I continued to press NYCHA for a timeline to get the gas service restored.

Unable to get a firm answer, at the beginning of October I invited my fellow elected officials to a rally with residents to say “enough is enough,” and to call on NYCHA to finally do right by these rent-paying tenants and restore their gas service.

A little public pressure worked. Two days later, NYCHA reps met with residents to discuss a timeline for the work, and I’m happy to say that service was restored the day before Thanksgiving.

KISSENA PARK FLOODING

Just before I was elected to office in 2021, severe flooding around Kissena Park not only caused extensive property damage, it tragically took the lives of Hongsheng Leng, his wife Aihua Shen, and their daughter Ling Leng, a family of three who were unable to escape as the water rushed into their basement apartment on Peck Avenue.

On September 13, we were reminded of that tragic event when a sudden heavy downpour once again overwhelmed the sewer system and caused flooding around Kissena Park.

Thankfully no lives were lost this time, but I visited with exhausted Peck Avenue residents who were once again draining water from their basement and drying out their belongings.

It is clear that as climate change brings more frequent and powerful storms, a long-term solution is needed.

I convened a town hall with the Department of Environmental Protection to share their plans for mitigating the flooding with the residents and homeowners who live around Kissena Park.

There is going to be no easy solution, and we will have to address the problem from a variety of different angles.

That includes not only sewer upgrades and maintenance, but also new green infrastructure and even potentially buying out homeowners whose properties are repeatedly subject to life-threatening flooding. 

I pledge to keep working until our neighbors don’t have to worry about losing property or even potentially their lives whenever the forecast calls for rain.

ONGOING CHALLENGES – PUBLIC SAFETY 

And we continue to face a major challenge today – one that hits particularly close to home for many of us. Flushing is currently in the midst of a public safety crisis, with crime increasing at one of the highest rates in New York City.

I’ve been working closely with the NYPD throughout my tenure. Once a month, I attend the Precinct Council meeting, and I speak with our Community Affairs unit on a regular basis. When the crime rates went up, I had a round table with the NYPD and the Borough President.

One thing stood out – we don’t have enough officers in the 109th Precinct. We are one of the largest precincts geographically and a major commercial hub with a large amount of foot traffic and people buying goods. That attracts crime. 

Especially with the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, public safety must be our number one priority. 

I’ve tackled this from multiple angles, but this week I wrote a letter to the Mayor requesting more officers and resources be assigned to the 109. Every elected official who represents my district co-signed that letter.

I will be working closely with the mayor’s office to ensure that we get the resources we need to keep our families safe, that officers are able to respond in a timely manner and that we see officers walking on our streets.

ONGOING CHALLENGES – SIDEWALK CONGESTION

I have spoken with many of you regarding a long-running issue in the district – sidewalk congestion.

I have had numerous individuals who use wheelchairs, walkers or strollers come to my office and express their frustration with the congestion on our sidewalks.

While we all understand the need to support and foster immigrant small businesses, the proliferation of vendors in Flushing has become a public safety issue. Sidewalks are blocked, sanitation issues are piling up, intersections are clogged and it’s become a struggle just to walk to the grocery store.

I have worked closely with the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and have spoken with Deputy Mayor Banks regarding these concerns.

One thing that came out of those discussions was making inspection dates random. Previously, DCWP inspectors came the same day each week. Thanks to my recommendation, the inspections now occur on any weekday and there has been a decrease in vending activities. 

Unfortunately, this clearly isn’t enough. Despite more than a year of outreach efforts by DCWP, our sidewalks continue to be blocked. 

In the new year, I will continue to push for more enforcement.

BUDGET

One question I often get asked is “What is the biggest responsibility of a City Councilmember?” 

That’s a hard question to answer. Councilmembers play a number of roles in our community. But one of the areas where we have the most influence is in passing a city budget.

In July, I helped pass my first budget as a member of the City Council, and was able to re-invest $14.1 million in taxpayer dollars back into the district, including $2.1 million in discretionary funding and more than $12 million in capital funding to build our parks and to invest in our schools.

 PARKS

COVID-19 showed us the importance of our open green spaces. When many of us were trapped at home and unable to go to the places we love, our parks were the places that we escaped.

Whether it’s a senior couple walking together through the park or a family on the playground, making sure our green spaces are accessible and attractive for families was one of my top priorities in this year’s budget cycle.

I allocated funding for the beautification and maintenance of Kissena and Kissena Corridor Park, where this year together with GLOW, I co-hosted a bigger and better Fall Festival, a popular annual event for our district’s families.

Together with Speaker Adams, I also secured a $6.25 million allocation to create new paths connecting the north side of Kissena Park and the Kissena Park Velodrome. This path will join with a new one in Kissena Corridor Park that will finally improve the connection between downtown Flushing and Kissena Park. 

This is all part of the Eastern Queens Greenway, which will eventually connect all of our parks from Flushing Meadows to the Joe Michaels Mile in Bayside.

Funding like this is what allowed the Department of Parks to officially break ground on a $6.6 million dollar project for a complete reconstruction of Maple Playground. The renovations will include the addition of two pingpong tables – the first ones to be installed in a public park in Flushing. Later this year, Parks will also break ground on a reconstruction at Bland Playground on 40th Avenue. 

I was also able to host two “Movies Under the Stars” events, which welcomed families to spread a picnic blanket, grab some popcorn and watch a movie in a local park. This included a Halloween night in Kissena Corridor Park that we hope becomes an annual tradition.

SENIORS

This budget also delivered for our vibrant senior citizen community here in Flushing, with over $200,000 secured for senior centers and programs.

That includes $19,000 for the Benjamin Rosenthal-Prince Street Senior Center for technology and health classes, as well as to provide transportation services for their members.

There is also $48,000 dollars for the Chinese American Planning Council and Selfhelp Community Services to create virtual centers so our homebound seniors can stay connected.

EDUCATION

In late spring, I had the honor of attending elementary, middle school and high school graduation ceremonies across the district.

Seeing these students move on to the next chapter in their lives made me even more thankful for the hard work and dedication of the educators here in School District 25. It is no accident that the schools in our district are some of the most sought after in the city.

That includes Francis Lewis High School, which is the most applied to high school in the entire city, and one of the two largest in the five boroughs.

But our schools need help – they need increased funding given their increased enrollment, and we need more programming for students. 

This year, we opened a new annex at Francis Lewis High School to help alleviate overcrowding.

Believing in the holistic wellbeing of children, I partnered with the Speaker and the Queens Borough President and secured $1.5 million for the reconstruction of Leavitt’s Field, the baseball field at Flushing High School. I look forward to attending games on the field soon!. 

In this budget, I was also able to fund the top capital priority of the principals at nearly every school in the district, including a total of $650,000 for auditorium upgrades at PS 163, PS 20, and the East-West School of International Studies. I also allocated a total of $533,000 for new laptops and other technology upgrades at PS 162, PS 24, PS 241, PS 242, and PS 120.

And I was proud to secure $1 million to remodel the cafeteria at PS 177 to better serve students with autism.

YOUTH SERVICES

At many of those graduation ceremonies, I made a point to stress the importance of getting involved in your local community and giving back.

To that end, I allocated nearly $170,000 dollars for after-school and community programs for our children, including $14,000 dollars for the Young Adult Service Program run by Korean Community Services.

This program provides youth with a wide variety of opportunities to learn and develop through volunteering.

I also allocated $28,500 to support the Flushing YMCA’s teen programming, including leadership development and civic engagement.

 CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

I started off my speech by mentioning the change we’ve seen in Flushing as we welcome a growing culture and arts community. Flushing is fortunate to have so many quality cultural institutions in the neighborhood, and this budget includes nearly $350,000 for organizations like Flushing Town Hall, Queens Botanical Garden and Lewis Latimer House Museum to conduct cultural programming in our schools.

I know how important the Queens Botanical Garden is in our community, not only as an open space for respite and recreation, but as a valuable resource for teaching children and adults about gardening and sustainability, so the budget also includes $85,000 to support educational programming at the Garden and funding for a $1.2 million pavilion to further beautify the Gardens.

DV SURVIVORS

Domestic violence is an issue in the Asian American community, but one that we are often ashamed to discuss openly.

Before I entered politics and was elected to the City Council, I was an attorney who worked with domestic violence survivors. I saw the brutal effects of domestic violence on the lives of women and other survivors. 

That’s why I am particularly proud of the funding secured for the organizations doing the incredible work on the ground helping survivors each and every day.

I allocated over $150,000 for organizations and programs that aid survivors of domestic violence, including $90,000 for Garden of Hope, an organization based right here in Flushing that not only does incredible work with domestic violence survivors, but is also one of the few organizations in the city that aids victims of human trafficking.

The budget also includes $82,500 for the Korean American Family Services Center for its domestic violence programs, including $10,000 for the Rainbow House Emergency Shelter, which provides critical services for victims of domestic violence.

But we still have more work to do to make sure victims know that they can get out of these often deadly situations. This year, I took part in their 25^th Annual Silent March Against Domestic Violence to call attention to this issue, as well as send a message to survivors that the support they need is out there.

SANITATION

Flushing is the busiest bus-to-train transfer point in the entire city. Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue is the third busiest intersection in New York behind Time Square and Union Square.

The tens of thousands of people passing through Flushing every day makes for vibrant streets, but it also makes keeping those streets clean an immense challenge.

In this budget, I was able to secure $136,000 for the Flushing BID for its graffiti removal and street cleaning efforts in addition to the services already provided by the Department of Transportation.

One of my top priorities was securing more funding for sanitation services, especially for litter basket pickups. Through that advocacy, the City Council allocated funding for litter basket pickups six days a week across the city. But more can be done.

I allocated an additional $134,000 to fund mobile litter patrols to target illegal dumping sites throughout District 20.

Additionally, in the winter, they will also remove snow and ice from the LIRR overpasses from 149^th to Union Street, an issue that I called attention to on the campaign trail and one that has plagued Flushing for decades.

LEGISLATION

But bringing resources back into the district is just one of my responsibilities as your City Council representative.  

My experience growing up as the daughter of two Asian parents with limited English proficiency has radically shaped my priorities as a City Council member.

My parents struggled with the language. Even as a child, it fell to me to interpret for them as they communicated with the government or even their doctor.

This didn’t end when I entered adulthood, and the pandemic highlighted the struggle for my family and that of many others.

By the end of the year, I am slated to pass nine pieces of legislation into law, which would mean that I had among the highest number of bills passed into law in the entire City Council.

Of the five bills I have already passed this year, many of them are focused on improving language access in city government for New Yorkers.

The City Council recently passed two of my bills that would require 311 to implement protocols to quickly identify the language of a caller who requires translation services, as well as report on the length of time it takes to be connected to a translator.

OATH BILL

And I am hopeful that when they come up for a vote next week, the City Council will pass two more pieces of legislation I introduced.

One bill will require better outreach to small business owners who speak languages other than English. When a small business owner receives a fine, it can be a confusing process even if their first language is English.

My bill would require city agencies to translate a statement that advises business owners of their rights as they relate to agency inspections and would further clarify the rights of business owners to request a translation of a summons and how to request more time to respond to a summons.

This bill will ensure that small business owners aren’t accidentally fined because they don’t realize their right to request a translation.

PUBLIC SERVICE BILL

The Asian American community is the fastest growing ethnic population in New York City. According to the latest Census, the Asian population here in Queens grew by 29 percent between 2010 and 2020.

Expanding access to local government goes hand-in-hand with inspiring civic participation in our immigrant communities.

I passed a bill to officially establish the Public Service Corps, which will recruit the best and brightest college students for internships within city government at a time when our city agencies are experiencing unprecedented vacancy rates. We can no longer wait for the talent to come to us. Through the Public Service Corps, we can identify and develop the people that will become the future leaders of America.

I have always stated that for NYC to truly serve all its communities, we need to stop relying on third party remote interpretive services. We need to start recruiting from our talented NYC pool and hire more bilingual speakers, who not only speak the language but understand our diverse cultures.  

I will continue to fight in the City Council to ensure that language will not be a barrier to accessing the city resources and services that every New York City resident deserves. 

Thus, in the coming months, I plan to invite representatives from the Department of Citywide Administrative Services to Flushing to meet directly with residents and share the many job opportunities available in city government and how to apply for them.

RANKED CHOICE VOTING

This week, I also passed a bill that will redesign the ballots for all New York City residents in next year’s primary elections.

Throughout my time in government, I’ve heard from city residents that the ballot is unclear – translations are often misplaced and the instructions are often conflicting or confusing. 

My bill will change that.

Ballots will now be simplified, with clear markings that will ensure that voters know which race they are currently voting in.

Moreover, my bill changes the illustrations on the ballot to be clearer. 

Finally, it ensures that the Board of Elections lays out languages other than English in a manner that is clearer for LEP speakers.

LNY RESO

This month, I also introduced a resolution in support of a bill in Washington to make Lunar New Year a federally recognized holiday. Already, every AAPI member of the City Council signed on as a sponsor.

Designating the day a federal holiday would not only allow those who celebrate to spend time with family and friends, it would also be an important recognition of the growing importance of the Asian community in the United States, especially in light of the recent rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.

We have accomplished a lot in a short time, but I know there is still much more to do.

 2023

In my next year in office, I will continue to bridge the divide between our immigrant community and government.

#1 Our next generation should always be our priority, and that’s why schools will always be my top priority. 

This year, we successfully brought a Gifted and Talented Program to PS 24 – the only G&T program in Council District 20. In the year ahead, I will continue to work with Chancellor Banks and the Department of Education to secure more Gifted and Talented classrooms for our students.

#2 Another top priority of mine is to build more affordable housing, with a focus on senior affordable housing. I will be working closely with our community nonprofits to secure more housing for our seniors so that they can age gracefully and with dignity in their own neighborhoods.

I’ve also spoken with developers from across New York City and made it clear – Flushing is open for business and we need housing. As I negotiate with developers, I’ve had a particular focus on ensuring that new buildings include affordable housing and public amenities. Keep your eye out in the year ahead for some major announcements! 

#3 Our community has the largest Asian American population of any district in New York City, with over 70% of our residents identifying as Asian. 

Whether it’s an arch on Northern or lanterns on Main Street, I want our community to reflect our beautiful diversity, and I look forward to continuing conversations with all of you on how best to approach that.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

When I arrived in this country at the age of seven, my parents were fleeing genocide and looking for a brighter future for my brother and I. Through their hard work, I like to believe they accomplished that.

I want to ensure those same opportunities exist for anyone who has the drive and determination to achieve them, and I won’t stop fighting as your City Council representative to protect and preserve those opportunities.  

As I look out into the crowd, I see so many dedicated and committed community leaders, and I know that together we can meet any challenges that come before us.

None of my work would be possible without my team. Thank staff you to Alexander Hart, Xin Wu, Dandan Lin, Rosie Kim, Lei Zhu and Shane Miller.

Thank you for allowing me to represent you in the City Council, and I look forward to what the next year brings.