By Faudia D. Baijnauth, Program Director, Indo-Caribbean Alliance Inc.
With the Primaries over, voters are now left with a little over a month to decide which candidates will represent us on a local level. On November 5th, New Yorkers will cast their ballots for Mayor, City Council, Comptroller, Public Advocate, Borough President and other municipal representatives who will determine the future of New York City. Of course this has major implications for Indo-Caribbean enclaves in Richmond Hill, Queens Village and South Ozone Park.
To engage voters, the Indo-Caribbean Alliance (ICA), a local non-profit organization based in Richmond Hill, joined forces with dozens of allies across the City. Together, we are working tirelessly to inform and mobilize the Asian American community, including thousands of Indo-Caribbean people, leading up to this election. We are determined to make our voices heard and take charge of our future because we know only we can.
ICA’s volunteers consist of high school and college students and seasoned organizers who have been working closely with the Indo-Caribbean community. Earlier in the spring, ICA co-hosted a mayoral debate forum to give voters a chance to have the candidates specifically address issues important to our community. We then worked with Chhaya CDC, another partner, to co-host a “South Asian and Indo-Caribbean” forum for the Queens Borough President candidates. While these events were well attended, we knew we simply could not reach everyone.
To connect with more residents, we employed a variety of strategies which saw our volunteers making appeals at religious institutions, attending our ever-popular cultural events, to calling thousands of registered voters and knocking on doors throughout South Queens. You may have even noticed us tabling on weekends along Liberty Avenue in Richmond Hill. Through these outlets, ICA aims to register at least 100 new voters and distribute informative materials, including customized information sheets on the candidates and pledge cards which serve as a reminder to go out and vote. Social media has also been an invaluable outlet for us to organize this undertaking. There’s still a chance you may have missed us though, so we’re appealing to you here.
So what’s at stake for us? Unlike national or statewide elections, these local races more directly impact the day-to-day lives of our children and families. From property taxes, to education, law enforcement and parking fines –in fact, stiff fines for just about anything, including so-called illegal conversions. How many of your friends, neighbors and family members have left New York City all-together because of the high cost of living here?
It is important for voters to familiarize themselves with the candidates’ positions on these controversial issues and choose the person they feel best represents their views. Many of us rightfully complain about politicians not listening. However, when we don’t vote we make it much easier to get ignored. Today, Asian Americans are more than 13% of NYC’s population, and are more united and engaged than ever before. Indo-Caribbeans are no exception. After more than a decade of Mayor Bloomberg, we have a chance to influence City Hall and our government with officials who share our views. Play a role in choosing our leaders, learn about the candidates and go out on Tuesday, November 5th to cast your vote. Do it like your future depended on it because it does.
For voting information visit www.nycvotes.org. For more information on the ICA, visit www.indocaribbean.org
