Asian American Nonpartisan Political Club. New York. Safety, Education, Community. Voting for Common Sense to Safeguard Our Future. Likes/RT ≠ endorsement.

Joined February 2022
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Asian Wave Alliance Endorses Mariama James in Manhattan Chinatown Assembly Race June 14, 2026 (New York, NY) Asian Wave Alliance (AWA), a nonpartisan political club, proudly endorses Mariama James for New York State Assembly District 65 to represent residents of Chinatown, FiDi, and the Lower East Side. We believe she is the candidate best aligned with our club’s priorities of public safety, excellent public schools, and economic prosperity for New York City’s fast-growing Asian community. Mariama is a lifelong New Yorker and public school mom who has delivered for 9/11 survivors and responders, and served in PTA leadership to make lower Manhattan public schools better. We recognize Mariama’s strong support on public safety and concerns of Chinatown residents. She stands firmly opposed to the Chinatown jail, recognizing the serious concerns of residents about its impact on the neighborhood. If elected, she will champion Priscilla’s Law, bringing accountability to our streets by requiring e-bikes and scooters to be registered, insured, and licensed. On education, Mariama is deeply committed to strengthening our public schools and advancing merit-based, high-quality education that gives every child the opportunity to succeed. Mariama vowed to keep the SHSAT for NYC’s Specialized High Schools while expanding support for students who can thrive at these schools. Mariama has an intimate understanding of the challenges facing neighborhood businesses in Lower Manhattan, and commits to bringing all parties to the table for a fair and balanced representation of local small businesses and property owners. Mariama’s foremost priority is ensuring that long-time residents—especially seniors—are not displaced from Lower Manhattan. “Mariama impressed us with her sincerity in hearing and addressing the concerns of the Asian community. We believe she will be an ally for us in Albany, and will effectively advance legislation that will make our city safer and more prosperous,” said Yiatin Chu, president of Asian Wave Alliance. Early voting is already underway from June 13–21, with Primary Election Day on June 23, 2026. You must be a registered Democrat to vote in the Democratic primaries. Check your registration: amiregistered.vote.nyc/; Find your poll site: vote.nyc/page/find-your-poll… @MariamaJames13
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“Six people fought in the primary election of the House of Representatives in Chinatown, New York. Chinese organization endorsed Mariama James.” worldjournal.com/wj/story/12…
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“The fact that Chen is the third most frequent surname in the voter file is indicative of the impact” of the Chinese community on New York City politics, he said. He expected this to only grow. “It takes a while for an immigrant group to become citizens, and even after becoming citizens, it takes a while for them to learn about politics and get registered and get politically active and so forth,” Mollenkopf said. “But it's definitely going to be an increasing influence on city elections in years to come.” gothamist.com/news/chinese-i…
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Please join us on Friday, June 5 at 8:30pm to meet with two candidates, Mariama James and Jay Jacky Wong, running for Assembly District 65. Register for the Zoom link: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi…
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RT @ycinnewyork: I’m proud to support the amended School Safe-Access Bill that will make NYC schools safer for students and educators. @Sp…
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We thank @GovKathyHochul for opting into the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit for New York families. AWA submitted comments to the IRS in support and urged Governor Hochul to opt in. We were prepared to activate our community this year but very glad that won’t be needed. chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/0…
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“Wong said that connecting with Asian voters in Elmhurst and Rego Park was crucial. He garnered about 29% of his votes from those areas, so it paid off – he won in Elmhurst with about 70% and in Rego Park with about 60%.” @PhilWongNYC2025 cityandstateny.com/politics/…
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“We are very proud of Phil Wong and excited that he will not only represent District 30 constituents but also Asian New Yorkers citywide. Phil has been a tireless advocate for his community in upholding quality of life and staunchly backing the blue when ‘defunding the police’ was all the rage. As a public school parent, Phil fought to expand Gifted and Talented programs and keep the test for Specialized High Schools. Phil Wong embodies AWA values and we couldn’t be happier about his win,” said Yiatin Chu, president of the Asian Wave Alliance.” littleafricanews.com/phil-wo…
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“I want us to get away from identity politics and really engage with candidates who will be helpful to our community,” Chu said. “I want to help people participate in our elections, regardless of where they fall.”  asamnews.com/2025/10/31/zohr…
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Asian Wave Alliance calls on all voters to cast a resounding NO on all six ballot proposals appearing on the general election ballot. These measures will sideline the civic and electoral progress we have fought for to reflect our priorities. While building more housing is a citywide goal, it must not supersede the rightful concerns of existing residents in our communities. City services like police precincts and firehouses, sanitation and schools must be addressed to support the growth from new developments. Proposals 2, 3, and 4 would erode this local control by shifting critical land-use decisions away from our community boards and elected City Council members and concentrate the power to the mayor and unelected mayoral appointees and expedite processes without important safeguards and evaluations by city agencies. We must vote NO to secure our seat at the table. Proposal 1 (Statewide: Amendment for Olympic Sports Complex in Essex County Forest Preserve): While this does not directly pertain to NYC residents, it will divert statewide public resources to develop this distant project that offers no benefit to our boroughs. Vote NO. Proposal 2, 3 and 4 (Expedited Land Use Review Procedure, Fast Track Review and New Zoning Appeals Board): By slashing timelines for "smaller" projects and spawn development in lower-density neighborhoods, these proposals will curtail full community scrutiny by removing local power and forums to hear neighborhood needs. The new Zoning Appeals Board proposal hands unchecked power to the mayor and his City Planning Commission appointees, sidelining the City Council. “It is important that we preserve the say we have on how our communities are shaped. Removing such checks and balances can lead to overdevelopment and do great harm to the existing environment without thoughtful planning,” says Amy Tse, treasurer of Asian Wave Alliance and member of Community Board 8 in Queens. “We urge voters to vote NO on all the proposals.” Proposal 5 (Unify the City Map Digitally): While centralizing and creating a digital system for outdated paper maps sounds logical, we have concerns about transparency of the process with no public input process or error adjudication; creation/changes/updates would be wholly centralized with the Department of City Planning. Additionally, we have not been given the cost or timeline of this proposal —vote NO until transparency is guaranteed. Proposal 6 (Even-Year Elections): Shifting city elections to even years might boost turnout overall, but it would drown out local races in the shadow of national politics, and dilute local organizing for local representation. It will also make it harder for challengers to incumbents. As a nonpartisan club, we want to see open and fair challenges to electeds who are not serving our communities well, regardless of party —vote NO to keep our elections vibrant and community-driven. “We stand with the City Council leadership in opposing these overreaches to eliminate democratically elected local representation on how our communities would change under the push for housing development. On November 4, join us in voting NO on all six. Your ballot is your voice: use it to protect the representation we've earned,” said Yiatin Chu, President of Asian Wave Alliance. ###
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"Citing an original planned capacity of 3,300 people for the new borough jails, Cuomo noted that the Rikers jails currently house 7,000 — more than double that number." Cuomo proposed to repurpose the boro jail sites for affordable housing. thecity.nyc/2025/10/15/cuomo…
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D30 City Council: "Wong, a community activist who has argued against affirmative action and the city’s noncitizen voting law, calls himself a “conservative Democrat supporting some of the Republican agenda.” D47 City Council: "But Brooklyn Republicans are feeling optimistic in Bay Ridge too...Republicans aren’t just dreaming about making the purple district a bit more red – they’ve won and flipped overlapping state legislative districts." cityandstateny.com/politics/…
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RT @PhilWongNYC2025: "Mr. Wong goes to Washington!" In 2020, I was elected president of Chinese American Citizens Alliance Greater New York…
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Asian Wave Alliance President @ycinnewyork spoke to @errollouis @InsideCityHall about the issues that matter in this election to NYC’s Asian community. Full episode — Chu’s interview at 30:00 youtube.com/live/fnHs2yLXWXI…
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This was March 20, 2022: Rally opposing the Chinatown borough jail. It’s good to hear the alternate plan for Rikers and reimagining the jail sites for affordable housing from @andrewcuomo.
Replying to @emmagf
This is welcomed news for Chinatown and the Asian community citywide. Jails don't belong in residential and small business districts. Rehabilate Rikers and use the borough-jail sites for affordable housing -- smart!
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Asian Wave Alliance did not consider Mr. Rinaldi for an endorsement.
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The most vibrant Chinese community is in Brooklyn. We were thrilled to have @andrewcuomo in the neighborhood to celebrate mid autumn festival with us.
A beautiful day in Brooklyn marching in the Sunset Park Parade - celebrating community, culture, and the people who make NYC great.
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