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SAYU V. BHOJWANI, IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER'S RESIGNATION
ANNOUNCED BY MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERGTHE

New York, May 3, 2004

 

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the resignation of Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Sayu V. Bhojwani. Commissioner Bhojwani, who departs in late May, is moving to London. Commissioner Bhojwani was appointed in April 2002 and is the City's first Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs. The Office of Immigrant Affairs was created by City Charter referendum in 2001.

"Sayu Bhojwani has been instrumental in raising the level of awareness of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs within both City government and immigrant communities throughout the City," said Mayor Bloomberg. "As an immigrant, Sayu knows first hand the challenges that our immigrant community faces and has tirelessly advocated for them and their needs. We will truly miss her and wish her well in all her future endeavors."

"Working with this Administration has been a great opportunity to serve the City's immigrant population during a two-year period of unprecedented policymaking and community outreach," said Commissioner Bhojwani. "In the past year, the Administration has enacted groundbreaking policies that protect the rights of domestic workers, ensure the access of limited English proficient New Yorkers to City services and enable immigrants to seek out services for which they are eligible without fear of being reported to federal immigration authorities."

For the first time, the contributions of immigrants to our City were formally celebrated when the Mayor declared Immigrant History Week earlier this month, an effort lead by Commissioner Bhojwani and her agency. Prior to joining the Administration, Commissioner Bhojwani was a recipient of the Charles H. Revson Fellowship on the Future of the City of New York.

Ms. Bhojwani is the Founder and former Executive Director of South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!), a youth development agency serving over 300 youth each year. Ms. Bhojwani was born in Lucknow, India, raised in Belize, Central America, received a B.A. from the University of Miami, and came to New York in 1987 to earn an M.A. from Teachers College. In New York City, she became concerned about the lack of South Asian involvement in the political process and in the city's schools and civic associations. She founded SAYA! in 1996 to develop leadership skills and encourage civic and political participation among young South Asians, as well as to create a safe space for the South Asian youth community in Queens and to encourage the pursuit of higher education and nontraditional careers by young South Asians. SAYA! grew rapidly and currently operates in five schools in Queens and Manhattan, offering programs in leadership and organizing, academic and career preparation, and arts and recreation. Ms. Bhojwani serves on the board of the New York Foundation. In 2000, she received a Union Square Award for the significant contribution her community activism has made to the lives of New Yorkers, and in 2001, she received the Helen La Kelly Hunt Women's Neighborhood Leadership Award from the New York Women's Foundation. During her Revson year, Ms. Bhojwani studied photography, education policy, and sociology, and worked with Professor Sudhir Venkatesh on a paper documenting the founding and development of SAYA!.