On the eve of the first official debate in New York City’s 2025 mayoral race, five candidates — Adrienne Adams, Michael Blake, Brad Lander, Jessica Ramos, and Scott Stringer — gathered at New York Law School on Tuesday for the AAPI Mayoral Forum.
The candidates addressed key issues affecting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, including support for English language learners, public safety, access to public benefits, language accessibility, and affordability.
Hosted by the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) and its over 90 AAPI-led and -serving community organizations, the forum featured 15-minute one-on-one conversations between each candidate and PIX11 journalist Shirley Chan. Around 200 AAPI New Yorkers attended.
“The next mayor will have, quite frankly, no choice but to work alongside our communities to build our collective future,” said Vanessa Leung, CACF’s co-executive director. “We have organized for our lives…we have fought for the resources we deserve, and we’re just getting started, and this is why tonight really matters.”
All five candidates criticized the Trump administration’s harmful impact on immigrant and AAPI communities and accused current Mayor Eric Adams of staying silent in the face of federal threats.
When speaking with Chan, each candidate pledged to stand up to future Trump-era policies and committed to partnering with grassroots organizations to improve conditions for AAPI New Yorkers.
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Brad Lander, the city’s current comptroller, vowed to tackle hate crimes, improve mental health services, and ensure fair school funding. He proposed expanding dual-language programs, placing multilingual coordinators in schools, and growing the AAPI Classroom program to teach Asian American history. On housing, he floated repurposing city-owned golf courses and adopting “housing first” strategies to combat homelessness.
Jessica Ramos, State Senator for District 13, highlighted her “Harmony NYC” mental health plan, which includes reopening psychiatric facilities and adding supportive housing. She pledged to resist the Republicans plan for’ Medicaid cuts and champion universal healthcare through the New York Health Act. Ramos also called for rent freezes, property tax reform, and higher wages to address affordability.
Scott Stringer, former city comptroller, backed extended school hours for English language learners, stronger protections against ICE in schools, and building new public housing through a “Mitchell-Lama 2.0” plan. He proposed using 1,000 vacant city-owned lots for affordable housing and a $1 billion nonprofit “rainy day fund” to prevent service disruptions.
Adrienne Adams, the current City Council Speaker, emphasized her support for community-led public safety through police-community trust-building rather than police expansion. She also highlighted her work on creating a Language Bank and a city-supported language worker cooperative. Council Speaker Adams promised to expand access to public benefits and cited her role in securing $5 billion for housing.
Michael Blake, a former aide to President Barack Obama, highlighted his work expanding opportunities for AAPI-owned businesses and his role in co-founding the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, a nonprofit launched by Obama to address opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color. He proposed adding 1,000 mental health workers across subways and public spaces instead of police, expanding legal protections for community centers, and ending credit score requirements for housing. He also advocated for universal childcare and stronger protections for Medicaid and senior housing.
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Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders now comprise 18% of New York City’s population and are its fastest-growing ethnic group. Leung emphasized that despite representing over 1.3 million people across over 30 ethnicities and 50 languages, AAPI communities are still often treated as a monolith and largely overlooked in policy and funding decisions.
Dr. Anita Gundanna, CACF’s other co-executive director, added, “Our forum is a chance for our diverse AAPI communities to be seen and engaged, not just as voters, but as vital stakeholders in the future of this city.”
