Naima Dahir urges passage of Intro 208 for Arab American Family Support Center

Good afternoon, Chair Ressler, Councilmember Stevens, and Councilmember Brewer, and members of the Committee on Contracts.

My name is Naima Dahir, and I'm the Advocacy Manager at the Arab American Family Support Center, also known as AAFSC.

AAFSC serves over 20,000 New Yorkers each year.

Our staff speak more than 20 different languages.

Over 70% of our clients were born outside of the United States, many from historically underserved communities.

Our work centers on families by helping them stabilize during challenging times, maintain stability.

And ultimately thrive.

This includes uplifting economic empowerment and making sure our communities have the opportunities to thrive in New York City, including through small business ownership and economic support.

Middle Eastern and North African communities have been long overlooked despite their contributions to the culture and makeup of New York City.

MENA-owned businesses are staples in our communities and are well-loved by the people they serve.

These businesses go through many of the same hurdles associated with small business ownership, but are currently not recognized as minority-owned businesses under New York City's MWBE program.

This classification has significant consequences for our communities and highlights an unfair gap in the city's economic opportunity programs.

New York City's most recent disparity study did not look at MENA.

to own businesses separately.

Because of this, the city does not have enough information to know how many MENA businesses are competing for city contracts, how often they receive these contracts, how much funding they receive, or whether they face discrimination.

Instead, MENA-owned businesses may be counted as white businesses, which makes their particular and unique experiences and challenges invisible.

We have seen the real impact of these disparities.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses were receiving rent relief and other support, Arab-owned businesses were often left out or had difficulty accessing these resources.

This shows why it's important for MENA-owned businesses to properly be identified and included in the data the city uses to make decisions about economic opportunities and support.

Intro 208, sponsored by Councilmember Shahana Hanif, would require MENA-owned businesses to be included in future disparity studies used to determine eligibility for the program.

This is a critical first step towards greater inclusion of MENA-owned businesses.

We urge the committee to advance Intro 208 and the full City Council to pass it without delays.

MENA-owned businesses have contributed to New York City's economy for generations.

They should no longer be invisible in data that determines the economic opportunities and the supports that they need to succeed.

Thank you so much.