Fukien American Association and More Than 20 Other Chinese Community Organizations Endorse Cy Vance

published Aug 30, 2009

CONTACT:
Erin Duggan
Cy Vance for Manhattan DA
(646) 248-4370
eduggan@cyvanceforda.com

FUKIEN AMERICAN ASSOCIATION AND MORE THAN 20 OTHER CHINESE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ENDORSE CY VANCE FOR MANHATTAN DA

Former NYPD Deputy Commissioner Hugh Mo Praises Vance’s Commitment to Protecting Immigrants

The Fukien American Association, along with more than 20 other Chinese community organizations, today announced its support for Cy Vance, Democratic candidate for Manhattan District Attorney. Hugh Mo, former ADA and NYPD Deputy Commissioner, cited Vance’s Immigrant Protection Plan and commitments to safe housing as reasons for the endorsement.

“The Chinese community too often falls victim to fraud, housing discrimination, and unfair working conditions. Cy Vance has shown a rare commitment to helping immigrants and providing them with the full benefit of the law,” said Mo. “His Immigrant Protection Plan will help the DA’s Office to protect immigrants from fraud, aggressively prosecute hate crimes, and work with community organizations to provide education and outreach. He will listen to the needs of the Chinese community, and he will work tirelessly to keep us safe. We need a progressive voice in the DA’s Office, and Cy is the strongest candidate in this race.”

“Just three weeks ago, Robert Morgenthau announced the indictment of two individuals who made a career out of defrauding Chinese immigrants in Manhattan,” said Vance. “This is only the most recent retelling of a shameful tale. The immigrant community, often unsure of its rights and wary of law enforcement, deserves to be protected by the DA’s Office. I will aggressively prosecute fraud and hate crimes that target immigrants, but I will also be proactive: I will work with schools and community organizations to educate immigrants and prevent crimes before they occur.”

The Fukien American Association, an umbrella group for Fukienese community organizations, is the largest of the organizations endorsing Vance this afternoon. The largest Chinese fraternal organization in America, it has roughly 20,000 members. The group will commit time, and resources to get Cy Vance elected as District Attorney.

Kenneth Cheng, President of the Fukien American Association, said: “It is vital for the Chinese community that we have a DA who understands our problems and will work with us to solve them. That is why we are uniting behind Cy Vance. We will support him not only in voice, but also in means. We will reach out to our members, make phone calls, and make sure that everyone in the Chinese community understands that Cy Vance is the right choice for Manhattan DA.”

These organizations are the most recent of many community groups, progressive organizations, and political leaders to endorse Vance. Vance has been endorsed by the New York Times and the Daily News, current District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, U.S. Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, State Senator Tom Duane, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, Council Member Alan Gerson, former Mayor David Dinkins, Caroline Kennedy, Gloria Steinem, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former Comptroller H. Carl McCall, the UFT, Teamsters Local 237, RWDSU, The Sergeants Benevolent Association, former U.S. Attorneys Robert Fiske and Zachary Carter, the founders of the Innocence Project and the founder of the Doe Fund, and many more. He is also supported by more than 100 former ADA’s – men and women who have worked with all three candidates and know what it takes to be an exemplary District Attorney.

Vance’s Immigrant Protection Plan Includes:

Immigrant Affairs Unit. The existing Immigrant Affairs Program will be elevated to full unit status within the Special Prosecutions Bureau of the District Attorney’s Office.
Increased Resources. Resources will be doubled, with specially-trained Assistant District Attorneys and new immigrant-assistance coordinators assigned to the unit.
Community Based Justice. Throughout the county, prosecutors will be assigned to specific geographic areas. This will allow prosecutors in immigrant communities to better understand the unique challenges of each area, build relationships, and develop solutions based on the needs of each community.
Education. Current pilot programs for public education in the schools and special seminars on immigrant rights and fraud prevention will become formal parts of the unit’s mandate.
U Visa Expansion. Vance will support the expanded use of U visas to victims of fraud. This will make our communities safer by encouraging victims of crimes to cooperate with investigations.
- Issued to victims of certain crimes who work with enforcement agencies, U Visas provide these immigrants with authorized stays and employment authorization. In return, they will help us more effectively investigate crimes.
Information. The unit will work with leading members of immigrant communities to inform immigrants of their rights, the programs provided by the DA’s office, and the dangers of immigrant-directed crime. This information will include:
- Reminders that the DA’s office has a standing policy of not sharing information provided by victims and witnesses to immigration officials.
- Public service ads warning of the dangers of fraud and the legal rights of immigrants. When it comes to fraud, a more informed city is a safer city.
Prosecuting Hate Crimes. The Immigrant Affairs Unit will work together with Vance’s proposed Hate Crimes Unit to prosecute those who target immigrants for their race or ethnicity.

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"I support Cy Vance in this year’s election because I believe he is the best qualified, by his experience and his views, to keep this office the strongest in the nation."

Endorser Name & Title:
Robert M. Morgenthau
Manhattan District Attorney
"Cy is the most experienced candidate in the race, and he has the support of those who best understand what is needed in our next DA. He has served as an outstanding prosecutor, criminal defense lawyer, commissioner for sentencing reform and community leader. But perhaps most importantly, through his long career, he has maintained the ability to combine pragmatism and idealism to achieve justice."

Endorser Name & Title:
Caroline Kennedy
Activist, Author, Attorney
“Cy Vance is an accomplished lawyer, a passionate advocate and a true progressive. But most importantly, he embodies a characteristic that I believe is essential for the Manhattan DA: fairness. "

Endorser Name & Title:
Hon. David Dinkins
Former Mayor, New York City
"Cy will be the kind of progressive D.A. that Manhattan needs – a lifelong opponent of the death penalty and supporter of the rights of women, LGBT people, and people of color. Throughout his career as a distinguished trial lawyer, Cy has embodied the principles of fairness and integrity that have long been central to the Manhattan D.A.’s office. He will work tirelessly to protect our communities."

Endorser Name & Title:
Betsy Gotbaum
Public Advocate, New York City
"The people of Manhattan expect and deserve a DA that will handle criminal justice issues with fairness and integrity... Cy has spent his career working on these issues [crime prevention, alternatives to incarceration, economic crime and financial fraud] from inside the courtroom, and his expertise is second to none. Manhattan DA is an important job, and it demands a leader with unparalleled legal skill and the utmost integrity."

Endorser Name & Title:
H. Carl McCall
Former Comptroller, NYS
"It's clear that Cy Vance has the experience and judgment necessary to lead such an important office. He has spent a lifetime in the courtroom, working on both sides of complex cases... We are endorsing Cy because we trust that he will look out for working families to make sure that they are safe and justice is being served."

Endorser Name & Title:
Gregory Floyd
President, Teamsters Local 237
“Cy's innovative vision of how to forge a greater partnership between prosecutors, police and the community is exactly the type of forward thinking that we believe will make this city an even safer place to live and work... Of all the candidates in the race, Cy is the only one with the right experience to run this office.”

Endorser Name & Title:
Ed Mullins
President, Sergeants Benevolent Association
“…an attorney in the tradition of Hogan and Morgenthau who will carry on a policy of fairness and toughness as chief law enforcement officer for New York County.”

Endorser Name & Title:
Eleanor Jackson Piel
Veteran Civil Rights Attorney
"Cyrus Vance has the experience and wisdom to understand that the public safety that New Yorkers deserve will not be achieved as the accidental by-product of business as usual prosecutions. Cy Vance has long advocated the kind of proactive engagement with local communities that can produce dramatic crime reduction in the areas of our city most in need.”

Endorser Name & Title:
Zachary Carter
Former U.S. Attorney,
Eastern District of New York
“We can be confident that Cy Vance will continue the traditions of effective law enforcement, fairness and justice that have defined and distinguished the Manhattan DA’s Office.”

Endorser Name & Title:
David Boies
Chairman of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, LLP
"Cy Vance's advocacy of reform of the draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws will help addicts get the treatment that they need instead of the prison time that turns them into hardened criminals."

Endorser Name & Title:
Rev. Reggie Williams
Chairman of the United Missionary Baptist Association’s Commission for Human and Economic Development
Pastor - Charity Baptist Church of Christ
“Cy Vance is clearly the best qualified, most experienced, and most decent candidate to meet the enormous challenges and responsibilities of the office of District Attorney of New York County.”

Endorser Name & Title:
Victor A. Kovner
Former Corporation Counsel of the City of New York under Mayor David Dinkins
"As a superb prosecutor and leading member of the defense bar, Cy Vance is the candidate best qualified to lead this great office."

Endorser Name & Title:
Author Linda Fairstein
Former Chief, Sex Crimes Unit, Manhattan DA's Office
"Cy Vance has the experience, judgment and integrity to preserve the best traditions of this office and to ensure public safety and fairness. Cy Vance is my choice for District Attorney.”

Endorser Name & Title:
Michael Cherkasky
Former Chief, Investigations Division, Manhattan District Attorney's Office
Endorser Name & Title:
“Cy Vance has the integrity, the experience and the energy to be a great District Attorney and a very worthy successor to Bob Morgenthau.”

Robert Fiske
Former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York

Fukien American Association and More Than 20 Other Chinese Community Organizations Endorse Cy Vance

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