Edwin Wong, Candidate,
New York City Council , District 29
Edwin has been a community advocate for more than 20 years and more recently in the Forest Hills and Rego Park neighborhoods of Queens. He is an advocate for Education, Small Business, Families, Seniors and all residents.
Edwin is a candidate for New York City Council District 29 which includes Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens and areas in Richmond Hill and Middle Village. He was most recently a candidate and won for NY Democratic State Committee – Male Member – Assembly District 28 which includes areas of Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens, Middle Village, Richmond Hill and Glendale. He was also a candidate for Delegate to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, for Democratic Presidential Candidate, Andrew Yang, in New York’s 6th Congressional District and currently a Humanity Forward AAPI Leadership Council Member. He also serves as Democratic Organization of Queens County - County Committee Member for Election District 32/Assembly District 28 .
Edwin is serving in his 7th year as a board member of Queens Community Board 6 (Forest Hills, Rego Park) and a member of the Education Committee and Consumer Affairs committee which includes Cultural Affairs. He has increased awareness for the Community Board at various community events and has encouraged residents to apply to become community board members so that the board is more reflective of the district.
Edwin is President Emeritus of the Forest Hills Asian Association which he established to advocate, collaborate and engage with/for the Forest Hills community . He received a New York City Council proclamation for these efforts. Efforts included:
As a board member of the Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park, he supports efforts to raise funds that go directly to the park for services and programs. This includes the annual "Evening Under the Sphere" outdoor gala. He was their 1st board Treasurer and Chair of the Finance & Development Committee
Edwin has 15+ years experience as a Banker / Commercial lender advocating for his clients. His team management, client relationship skills, and credit knowledge have enabled him to advocate for his clients during the 2007-2008 financial crisis and also now during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He has worked across various industry sectors including medical / healthcare, education/schools, retail, apparel, not for profits, professional service firms and real estate. He was the Founding Treasurer for an Asian Employee Network, at one of the world’s largest banks, and advocated for diversity in the workplace.
Edwin has been honored as an inductee into Fordham University’s, “HOMINES PRO ALIIS” SOCIETY “men and women for others”, for contributing time and talent in service to both the university community and society at large.
In July 2018, Edwin was included in City & State New York’s “10 Queens residents on the rise” to watch. He has been honored as a “Kings of Queens” by Star Network (Schneps Communications) He has also been honored by the Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corp (FHVAC) as well as the NYPD 112th police precinct community council (alongside 3 star chief, Thomas M. Chan)
More recently he has helped to increase awareness and donations for the EMS FDNY Help Fund for these 1st responder heroes, in memory of his late parents. He gives to his church, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, as well as various community and not for profit organizations including the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), Alzheimer's Association NYC Chapter, Asian American Film Lab, and more.
Edwin graduated from The State University of New York at Buffalo (UB) and completed his MBA at Fordham University’s, Graduate School of Business Administration now Gabelli School of Business. (He gives annually to his alma maters too ) He and his wife Katherine reside in Forest Hills, Queens, with their two toddler sons.
I was born and raised in Queens, NYC. I learned to play rock, paper, scissors before it became a competitive sport, from immigrant Chinese elementary school students. They were students of my late mother who was one of the first Chinese English Bi-Lingual school teachers in the NYC Public School System in the late 60s and early 70s.
As a proud middle child, I learned to be independent, resourceful and open-minded. I also learned patience, how to listen, negotiate, problem solve and be a peacemaker. Raised Catholic, I learned to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". All attributes that have molded me into who I am today in my personal, professional and community life, and to be your next council member.
My mother Winnie , was a New York City Public School teacher for 35+years and my late father, Thomas, worked for the NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) for almost 30 years. He was the first Chinese American New York City public employee who had an office at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New York (CCBA) 中華公所 and served the Manhattan Chinatown community in the Chinese language, primarily seniors. Both were proud union members. They courageously immigrated to this great country and settled in New York City and attended college in the 1960s . They married, became parents and lived through the serious fiscal crisis in the 1970s, like we are experiencing today. Like immigrant families today they were not always welcome and encountered racism. They lived in the World's Borough of Queens for over 50 years. To honor them, I dedicated a NYC Parks bench for them in Flushing Meadows Corona Park under the Unisphere. My charitable giving and community advocacy comes from learning and following the actions of my late parents. I will carry on their legacy.
My experience as a Banker / Lender advocating for business clients will enable me to help our city get through our current fiscal crisis. I will find funding from waste and overspending and allocate to where it is most needed. I will fund our front line workers at our hospitals and healthcare facilities, and support our essential workers who help keep our neighborhoods and city running and safe. I will advocate for pay parity for our EMS FDNY heroes. Not just during a pandemic, but going forward. I will work with city employees and their unions to make sure that they are able to keep their jobs and benefits. I understand how to advocate for a business within a large banking environment, and will use this experience to advocate for our community within a large city government.
Parents: Thomas D. Wong 黃鼎明 & Winnie C. Wong, 王楚雲 early 1970s
I am running for City Council…
… so parents can send their children off to walk to/from their neighborhood school with their friends, like I did when I grew up.
… to advocate for the small business owner so that we can reduce the time they spend on addressing burdensome regulations and unwarranted fines and spend more time serving customers, supporting their families, hiring locally and giving back to the community
… so families, children, and seniors have access to the internet technology that can improve their livelihoods
… to enhance the quality of life for our seniors so they can enjoy their golden years without having to choose between feeding themselves, paying their rent , or getting their medications.
…. to bring the community together in a time of increased divisiveness and speak out against Covid-19 related Anti-Asian, Anti-Semitism, bias, racism and violence that has been too common place
... carry on Wong family tradition and legacy of community advocacy and service to the community
If elected , I could be the first NYC born and raised Chinese American (maybe Asian American) City Council member. ( Like the Jeremy Lin of the NY City Council ) .
Please join me and be a Champion for our Children, a Champion for our Community, and a Champion for Change and Progress.
With much thanks and appreciation,
Edwin Wong 4 All