Governor Hochul on Thursday addressed the congregation in South Richmond Hill, Queens to stand with the Sikh community in light of the hate crimes that have rocked the community this month.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

	Governor Hochul Visits Sikh Cultural Society in Queens Governor Hochul on Thursday addressed the congregation in South Richmond Hill, Queens to stand with the Sikh community in light of the hate crimes that have rocked the community this month. Kaur Republic Apr 22 Governor Hochul during her visit to South Richmond Hill’s Sikh Cultural Society recommitted to fighting the hate crimes that have taken place in the community. Screen grab courtesy of Simarjeet Singh Gilzian Joining the community during the 400th jayanti [birth anniversary] of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, Gov. Hochul was surrounded by representatives from the community, she said: Subscribe now We’re standing together and we’re standing strong. All New Yorkers stand together with this peace-loving community. This community believes in equality for all and takes care of others in a beautiful way and I want to make sure that we don’t lose that. We need to continue to support this community, particularly now more than ever. And how we support this community comes down to more than just showing up and sharing our sense of pain with the victims of these horrific crimes and the community at large, but also have real money on the table and I want to thank my partners in the state government, especially Senators who worked with me to put together a plan to have money on the table to help victims of and help communities to be able to heal and recover but also protect themselves and part of that protection involves money for security cameras and other ways to feel safer. We also need to let people know that freedom to express our religion is safeguarded.” Community leader Simarjeet Singh Gilzian commended Hochul for her visit saying: I believe where we are thankful the Governer has come out to support our community during her term and these unprecedented times, we look forward and expect to see her in our community more often to address all our issues and conerns. Sikh New Yorkers must continue community work at all levels to allow our Voice to be Heard and Dastaar to be Seen. The Federal government through a program called the Nonprofit Security Grant which is administered through FEMA, offers congregations funding to amp up surveillance and security at religious houses of worship. However, the program has several flaws Funding is extremely limited When government officials or representatives of agencies come to scope the house of worship, undocumented people are at risk because there is no assurance of their safety. Subscribe now Legislatures Take Action The need for expanded funding has state legislatures taking matters into their own hands. In 2021, 51 nonprofits in Colorado applied for more than $6.5 million from the federal program, but only 10 received funding for a total of more than $1.1 million, according to HB22-1077. Under this bill, lawmakers hope to allocate $1.5 million annually for Colorado nonprofits that were unable to get federal money for security of their institutions. Subscribe now In New York State, advocacy groups such as CACF had requested an “AAPI Equity Budget” of $64.5 million. Governor Hochul at an anti-hate rally earlier this month announced that communities would be getting $20 million. The investment would represent the most significant action to date in the United States to address the horrific surge in AAPI hate crimes, the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19, and the historic underfunding of AAPI communities. Funding will go toward programs and services ranging from support for AAPI community organizations to AAPI curriculum designed for students in Pre-K through 12th grade. The allocation would also create an AAPI State Commission, which would serve to advise the governor’s office on the needs of the AAPI community and examine critical issues like language access among state agencies, departments, and commissions. The Governor has shifted gears into a contentious election season where her Lt. Governor Brian Benjamin resigned in disgrace after being charged with bribery and fraud. Subscribe now Governor Hochul also is using taxpayer money to fund the new Bills Stadium in upstate New York. The New York Times reports: Critics have already savaged the deal — which will cost the state $600 million and Erie County an additional $250 million — as an egregious example of corporate welfare. Others view it as a blatant example of election-year largess, orchestrated by a governor, Kathy Hochul, whose upstate bona fides do not necessarily translate to support downstate, where New York elections are won and lost. In Congress, Senator Bernie Sanders with his counterpart in the U.S. House of Representatives has been working toward creating better-funded Nonprofit Security Grant that can help mitigate the funding shortfall that congregations are experiencing. Subscribe now The Nonprofit Security Grant Act of 2022 would provide more funding for the program in addition to making key changes needed to better administer the program to maximize its impact. Key members of the House of Representatives who have Sikhs within their constituencies are as follows [they are also cosponsors of this] Representatives Katko, Jackson Lee, Langevin, Payne, Correa, Slotkin, Cleaver, Green of Texas, Clarke of New York, Swalwell, Titus, Watson Coleman, Rice of New York, Demings, Barragán, Gottheimer, Malinowski, and Torres of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security. One of the biggest objectives of this program that stands to benefit the public is the plan to: Inject $75 million for the fiscal year 2022 and $500 million for each of the fiscal years 2023 through 2028. This is one of many crucial steps to ensure the safety of our communities Kaur Republic is an independent newsletter covering Punjabi Perspectives on American Issues. We are completely funded by our newsletter subscribers and hope that you will consider a monthly or yearly contribution to keep the paywalls off our stories so they can remain open for learning. Follow us on Instagram| Follow Us on Twitter| Follow Navigating Politics with Navjot| Paid Subscribers get an exclusive Weekly Round-Up Newsletter| Like Comment Share You’re a free subscriber to Kaur Republic Newsletter. For the full experience, become a paid subscriber. Subscribe © 2022 Kaur Republic Unsubscribe 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104