Mohammad Razvi
MCN Board
Mohammad Razvi was born in Pakistan and came with his family in the 1980s. He and his family relocated to Brooklyn, NY. His family was one of the first to move into the Midwood section along Coney Island Avenue, what would later become “Little Pakistan”. The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11th changed him in ways he didn't expect, and gave him an unforeseen calling. Like his neighbors, Razvi mourned the victims of the World Trade Center attacks, in which three local residents died. As a businessman, he feared the economic impact from the attacks might crush his working-class, mostly Muslim community, whose immigrant strivers already suffered from a deepening national recession. As Pakistani neighbors came into his stores, like the restaurant, grocery, and discount outlet on Coney Island Avenue, asking for help. He struggled to learn how to navigate New York City's bureaucracy. He advocated on behalf of his neighbors after many were detained by Federal law enforcement. He translated for immigrants on the brink of being deported and offered his assistance in many forms.
Within 5 months after 9/11, the 32-year-old aspiring real estate mogul with a wife and children transformed himself into the Executive Director and formed Council of Pakistan Organization (COPO). COPO is an advocacy team whose influence reaches beyond its Pakistani base to the wider South Asian community. The fledgling non-profit started in a front which quickly attracted South Asian immigrants with low incomes and limited access to city services like healthcare and affordable housing. The Council became a liaison between the U.S. government and Muslim-Americans negotiating with law enforcement agents who cased Little Pakistan for suspects just based on their name. Today his organization offers help in securing English lessons, citizenship, food stamps, medical and mental health services, and other services.
Later to address the needs of other communities, he changed the name to Council of Peoples Organization. Razvi recently sold his outside businesses to work full time at COPO. For his relentless services to the immigrant community, Razvi was elected as a Board member of the New York Immigration Coalition. He has received many awards from Congressmen, State senators, Assemblyman, and Borough President, recognizing his efforts to unite the immigrant communities of New York in these trying times. Razvi also is a co-founder of We Are All Brooklyn coalition, and is also board member of CAUSE NY, Youth Bridge, Midwood Development Corp, FBI Citizens Academy New York Division, Muslims Consultant Network, Center for the Study of Brooklyn at Brooklyn College, Brooklyn Borough President’s Task Force For New Diversity.
Most importantly he is a graduate of NYPD Citizens Academy and FBI Citizens Academy. He is also on the Muslim Advisory Board to the FBI and the Civil Rights Division of FBI. He has utilized his knowledge and the trust of the community to build bridges between the Law enforcement and the community.
Razvi is referred to as the “Heart of Coney Island Ave”. Razvi believes that the community must be educated and empowered enough to advocate for its own cause. He tirelessly continues to advocate for those who don’t have a voice. “The ultimate achievement of a man is not when he has gained knowledge but when it is shared with others for their betterment. “ Mohammad Razvi.
Mohammad Razvi was born in Pakistan and came with his family in the 1980s. He and his family relocated to Brooklyn, NY. His family was one of the first to move into the Midwood section along Coney Island Avenue, what would later become “Little Pakistan”. The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11th changed him in ways he didn't expect, and gave him an unforeseen calling. Like his neighbors, Razvi mourned the victims of the World Trade Center attacks, in which three local residents died. As a businessman, he feared the economic impact from the attacks might crush his working-class, mostly Muslim community, whose immigrant strivers already suffered from a deepening national recession. As Pakistani neighbors came into his stores, like the restaurant, grocery, and discount outlet on Coney Island Avenue, asking for help. He struggled to learn how to navigate New York City's bureaucracy. He advocated on behalf of his neighbors after many were detained by Federal law enforcement. He translated for immigrants on the brink of being deported and offered his assistance in many forms.
Within 5 months after 9/11, the 32-year-old aspiring real estate mogul with a wife and children transformed himself into the Executive Director and formed Council of Pakistan Organization (COPO). COPO is an advocacy team whose influence reaches beyond its Pakistani base to the wider South Asian community. The fledgling non-profit started in a front which quickly attracted South Asian immigrants with low incomes and limited access to city services like healthcare and affordable housing. The Council became a liaison between the U.S. government and Muslim-Americans negotiating with law enforcement agents who cased Little Pakistan for suspects just based on their name. Today his organization offers help in securing English lessons, citizenship, food stamps, medical and mental health services, and other services.
Later to address the needs of other communities, he changed the name to Council of Peoples Organization. Razvi recently sold his outside businesses to work full time at COPO. For his relentless services to the immigrant community, Razvi was elected as a Board member of the New York Immigration Coalition. He has received many awards from Congressmen, State senators, Assemblyman, and Borough President, recognizing his efforts to unite the immigrant communities of New York in these trying times. Razvi also is a co-founder of We Are All Brooklyn coalition, and is also board member of CAUSE NY, Youth Bridge, Midwood Development Corp, FBI Citizens Academy New York Division, Muslims Consultant Network, Center for the Study of Brooklyn at Brooklyn College, Brooklyn Borough President’s Task Force For New Diversity.
Most importantly he is a graduate of NYPD Citizens Academy and FBI Citizens Academy. He is also on the Muslim Advisory Board to the FBI and the Civil Rights Division of FBI. He has utilized his knowledge and the trust of the community to build bridges between the Law enforcement and the community.
Razvi is referred to as the “Heart of Coney Island Ave”. Razvi believes that the community must be educated and empowered enough to advocate for its own cause. He tirelessly continues to advocate for those who don’t have a voice. “The ultimate achievement of a man is not when he has gained knowledge but when it is shared with others for their betterment. “ Mohammad Razvi.