Livingston Council Celebrates Town’s Growing Asian Population

LIVINGSTON, NJ — The Livingston Town Council took the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the town’s growing Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) population with a proclamation at their meeting last week.

Livingston Councilman Ketan Bhuptani – who became the town’s first Asian American council member earlier this year – mentioned that more than a quarter of the township’s residents identify as Asian. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, that number currently stands at 28.9 percent.

Bhuptani said that many of these residents have become active participants in community organizations and local government. See Related: Livingston Chinese Community Unites At Civic Awareness Event

Councilman Michael Vieira said that the goal is for nobody in Livingston to say “I don’t know anything about another culture.”

“That’s what is very important about Livingston,” he added. “We share our cultures, we share our beliefs, we learn from one another.”

Watch footage from the May 13 council meeting below (video is cued to the AAPI presentation).

Council members noted that the Livingston Committee for Diversity & Inclusion will host an Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Picnic in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month on Friday, May 24.

The event will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Memorial Oval & Park on Robert H. Harp Drive. It is free and open to the public, and will include games, activities, food and vendors.

The picnic is being organized with support from the Livingston NJ AAPI Committee and the Livingston AAPI Youth Alliance (learn more here).

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