Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Robert Agyemang, Vice President of Advocacy at New York Immigration Coalition
5:26:17
·
164 sec
Robert Agyemang, Vice President of Advocacy for the New York Immigration Coalition, testified about the need for continued funding and support for language access initiatives in New York City. He emphasized the importance of the language access workforce initiative and requested baseline funding of $7.8 million for language service worker-owned cooperatives and a community interpreter bank.
- Highlighted progress on language services worker-owned cooperatives and the community interpreter bank, with the first cohort of interpreters finalizing training in mid-June
- Requested $7.8 million in baseline funding for the language access workforce initiative to ensure consistency and allow for scaling of the program
- Urged the executive budget to address the affordability crisis, looming budget cuts, and over-criminalization of black and brown communities
Robert Agyemang
5:26:17
Good day Chairman Brannan, chairperson Viles.
5:26:22
My name is Robert Ajemang.
5:26:24
I'm the vice president of advocacy for the New York Immigration Coalition.
5:26:28
A statewide umbrella policy and advocacy organization with over 200 members who are immigrants serving.
5:26:35
I wanted to take the time to just thank you for creating a space for immigrant facing organizations to be able to speak about the executive budget.
5:26:46
My testimony in total uplifts a ton and a host of different immigrant related programs and fundings that varies the spectrum that impacts all immigrant New Yorkers, but I wanted to specifically talk about language, the language access workforce initiative today.
5:27:06
Specifically that it is still remains a critical need.
5:27:14
While working with our dedicated colleagues from Hope and Masa and African communities together, Asian American Federation, we continue to make strides with regards to the cooperatives, the language the language services worker owned cooperatives.
5:27:31
And we want to continue to develop and grow these programs.
5:27:38
With respect to the community interpreter bank, we're continuing to forge ahead with its first cohort of interpreters finalizing their training in mid June and moving on to potentially medical and legal interpretation certification depending on, you know, if they're able to finish the course and wanting to acknowledge the work that we have done as well as with our partners NICE, La Comena, Misteca, IRC in continuing to broaden the pool of interpreters.
5:28:19
And finally, wanting to put into the record, we are requesting the intentional baselining of funding for 7,800,000.0 for the whole initiative, the cooperatives and the community interpreter bank for the continued development, the consistency that's needed for this program to begin to scale for the cooperatives and the bank.
5:28:44
And just continuing to uplift the need for this executive budget to reflect the urgency to deal with the affordability crisis, the looming budget cuts, and the over criminalization of black and brown communities.
5:29:01
Thank you.