PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Riva Shang, Senior Coordinator of Small Business Programs at Asian American Federation (AAF)
2:59:06
·
3 min
Riva Shang from the Asian American Federation testified about language access challenges faced by Asian small business owners in New York City, highlighting the importance of Local Law 30 implementation and the need for improved language services. She shared insights on the lack of awareness about language access rights and the difficulties encountered during agency inspections.
- 4 out of 5 business owners interviewed were unaware of their right to language access when working with agencies
- Only 1 out of 5 cases had inspectors who called LanguageLine for interpretation
- Misunderstandings due to language barriers led to accruing fines and permit issues for some businesses
AAF recommends establishing an Office of Translation and Interpretation and requiring all inspectors to proactively offer language access services to improve equity in city services.
Riva Shang
2:59:06
the Committee on Immigration for inviting us to testify.
2:59:08
My name is Riva Sheng, and I coordinate small business support programs at the Asian American Federation.
2:59:15
AF represents a network of over 70 community organizations in the northeast who serve many diverse Asian communities.
2:59:21
We're also a proud member of the language justice collaborative who advocated for and supported the implementation of local law 30.
2:59:28
The Asian population continues to be the fastest growing group in New York City.
2:59:32
They also own 18% of employer firms in the city.
2:59:35
These small businesses are not only economic engines in the lifeblood of immigrant communities, They're also at the front lines of interacting with public facing city agencies, all of whom are covered under 2017's local law 30.
2:59:48
As 65% of Asian New Yorkers are foreign born, and over 40% have limited English proficiency, language access is crucial for them to receive equitable services.
2:59:59
Yet in interviews with our clients, 4 out of 5 business owners did not know they have the right to language access when working with agencies.
3:00:07
Only 2 had ever used language line.
3:00:09
The one owner who knew about language line access from friends told us that through her 5 years of using the service, sometimes it was helpful, but many other times they needed to wait hours for an available interpreter rendering the service null.
3:00:23
And only 1 out of 5 cases had an inspector themselves called LanguageLine.
3:00:27
Most often, English speaking inspectors do not alert the owner that this is an option.
3:00:32
Many of these business owners may speak enough English to through the interaction, but not enough to understand details or how to follow-up.
3:00:40
For 2 dry cleaners, they did not understand that violations were being issued, and inspectors wrote their reports under a ticket section titled recommendations.
3:00:48
This miscomprehension led to accruing fines and bars on new permits.
3:00:52
1 of the dry cleaners did not discover these violations until 3 years later, at which point they owed over $6000.
3:00:59
In the most egregious cases, the inspectors often being contracted by a city agency to do inspections on behalf of the agency, which then issues violations based on the report.
3:01:10
AES Small Business Team works to mitigate these effects, taking calls from business owners going through inspections and providing assistance when dealing with city agencies.
3:01:18
However, better city services and support are crucial to closing loopholes in language access.
3:01:24
To this end, we first support council member, Hanif's move to establish an office of translation and interpretation as human translators and interrogators will greatly improve outreach materials and are crucial for equitable access to services.
3:01:40
We also secondly recommend that all inspectors, including both city employees and third party contractors, be required to offer language access to inspectees Given that publicity about local law 30 has clearly been minimal, immigrants are mostly unaware of these rights and are not in a position to advocate for language access themselves.
3:01:59
Therefore, we urge the council to require inspectors to ask whether these services are required even in cases where it may seem that the inspectors has basic English.
3:02:08
Thank you again for this opportunity to testify, and I'd be happy to answer questions.
