A controversial bill being pushed by lefty legislators in Albany is trying to make the Empire State less “white,” critics say.
The legislation, sponsored by Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas (D-Queens) and Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), would mandate state agencies and other entities use separate categories for Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) New Yorkers when collecting demographics data – rather than relying on the US Census, which classifies them under one “white” umbrella.
The state Senate on Thursday voted unanimously to pass it, but González-Rojas’ version of the bill is still facing pushback in the Assembly.
Both pols argue “MENA” individuals don’t benefit from so-called “white privilege” – and instead face discrimination daily by falsely being associated with the 9/11 terror attacks.
They and other supporters also insist the current system shuts MENA individuals out of qualifying for minority-owned business grants, language programs and other critical government aid and services by labeling them white.
“This bill isn’t anti-white – it’s pro-MENA,” González-Rojas told The Post. “Data is power. It will give elected representatives and state agencies and institutions the tools to better understand the unique and diverse needs of all New Yorkers.”
However, state Assemblyman Alec Brook-Kransy, a Brooklyn-based Dem-turned-Republican, disagreed, saying he believes the endgame is “de-whiting” New York.
“I am deeply concerned that this further separation of New Yorkers into categories . . . may lead to more division,” he said. “If the desire is inclusion, then why are we pushing a path of forcing legislation that will clearly result in separation and further division in our society?”
State Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo (R-Staten Island) agreed, saying the bill stinks of “hypocrisy.”
“They want to fight systemic exclusion with systemic exclusion,” Pirozzolo said. “Instead of trying to help and uplift everyone, they are fanning the flame of racial division.”
The bill covers people of Egyptian, Moroccan, Libyan and other North African descent, as well as those of Iranian, Palestinian, Israeli, Lebanese and other Middle Eastern descent.
New York City is home to some of the largest Middle Eastern and North African communities in the nation, including the “Little Egypt” enclave in Astoria, which Gianaris and González-Rojas represent.
Their legislation is gaining steam in Albany while the Biden administration is in the process of adding a “Middle Eastern or North African” identifier to official documents like the US Census, picking up a plan first proposed by former President Barack Obama but tabled by his successor Donald Trump.
González-Rojas said the state can’t wait for the next Census in 2030 for MENA individuals to be fairly counted.
“This bill would cause this . . . to go into effect sooner,” González-Rojas said. “These communities have been made invisible from this decades-old erasure for too long, and each year only furthers that erasure.”
Gianaris said he believes MENA individuals shouldn’t be counted as white “because they are not, in fact, white.”
“This was obvious to every member of the Senate from both parties, which is why [the bill] passed unanimously,” he said.
Gov. Hochul in 2021 signed into law similar legislation requiring New York to “disaggregate” data it gathers for Asian-Americans into specific ethnic groups, such as Vietnamese and Chinese.
A Hochul rep declined to comment on the MENA legislation beyond saying the governor would “review it” if it passes both houses of the state Legislature.
