As the first and only Korean-American elected official in New York, Ron has broken boundaries and bridged neighborhoods. His ability to cross over and communicate with different communities encompassing all generations is something that Flushing, one of the most diverse areas of our state, desperately needs. With his knack for thinking outside of the box and his incredible sports acumen, whether it's time to think through policy ideas and resolve issues or to play two on two, Ron is a favorite amongst his colleagues. His goal is to bring the uniqueness of Flushing and Whitestone with him to Albany to make better policies that serve everyone in the state. The importance of language access, protecting "main street" small businesses from unreachable mandates, providing comprehensive services for older adults, and value of providing a passion-driven education for our youth has been at the forefront of his policy work.
Ron's open door community-centric policy led to appearances in the New York Times, Business Insider, the Daily Mail, NBC, New Observer, NY Daily News, and MSN Money when he mediated an issue between businesses and local senior citizens seeking social spaces in Flushing's crowded urban neighborhood. He also used this opportunity to write and introduce new legislation called the "Community Corner Café Fund", providing tax credits to mom-and-pop diners, cafes, and restaurants for collaborating with local nonprofits to serve older adults.
Ron also made national news (New York Times, Crain's, Reason, New York Magazine) by standing up for immigrant small business owners and working to curtail the state's ability to unilaterally impose unfair mandates on them, the kind that would lead to thousands of lost jobs for New York. Instead of short-term punitive approaches that only hurt workers by setting up small businesses to shut down, Ron has consistently joined community groups in advocating for long-term solutions that will take a vulnerable workforce from exploitation to empowerment.
Since 2012, Ron's District office has also served more than 35,000 constituents on a diverse range of issues, from resolving fraud cases to providing free tax preparation and applying for governmental assistance. Ron has never hesitated do whatever he needs to do to help his constituents, even if it means tackling a purse-snatcher to the ground near his district office (ABC News, Daily Mail, NY Post).
