Category: Uncategorized

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thenationmagazine:

Super storm Sandy hit lower Manhattan hard over the night of October 29-30. Floodwaters spilled over doorsteps in Alphabet City, cars floated through Battery Park, and power went out for almost all of the residents of the island below 39th street. Electricity remained off for those residents on Thursday, four days after the storm struck, and was expected to remain off for at least another day. 

Municipal and federal aid to neighborhoods populated by low-income residents and people of color—such as Chinatown and the Lower East Side—has been largely absent. On Thursday The Nation spoke with staff members of the Chinatown-based organization CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities about the resource center they have set up at their offices to fill that void. Since Wednesday, CAAAV has provided a generator, food and water, and translation services for residents in need of both sustenance and up-to-date information on the storm’s ongoing effects. CAAAV additionally continues to deploy volunteers to canvass the neighborhood and check in on elderly and disabled residents who have not been able to leave their apartments since the onset of the storm. 

To learn more or to volunteer visit CAAAV.org.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
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Volunteer Opportunities to Help Victims of Hurricane Sandy

Thanks to Yomi Ajaiyeoba, President of the Nigerian Lawyers Association, for passing along this information.

New York State Bar Association:

Please Volunteer for Pro Bono Efforts to Assist Hurricane Victims

The New York State Bar’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service is recruiting attorneys that can provide free telephone consultations to individuals affected by Hurricane Sandy. There is need for attorneys with insurance, landlord/tenant, co-op and condo, or FEMA appeals experience, as well as those who can handle general practice matters. 

We encourage attorneys outside the NYC area to volunteer. The program is set-up to assist victims via phone consultation.

Please respond as soon as possible if you can help hurricane victims in need.

Go to: www.nysba.org/DisasterVolunteerSandy to fill out your volunteer form.

City of New York:

There will be various ways to volunteer to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy – Want to Volunteer? Please email [email protected] with your name, email address and borough. There will be ways to volunteer today and over the next week as opportunities arise. 

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SDNY ORDERS: Extensions of deadlines in civil, criminal cases

Update from SDNY Public Information Officer:

Chief Judge Loretta A. Preska of the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York issued three orders today regarding the
extension of deadlines in civil and criminal cases as a result of Hurricane
Sandy. I previously sent the order related to Federal Rule of Criminal
Procedure 45, which is attached here again. The two other orders related to
civil cases and Fed. R. Crim. P. 32 were issued later. All three orders are
also available on the home page of our website at http://nysd.uscourts.gov.

Stephanie Cirkovich, Esq.
Public Information Officer
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
(212) 805-0529 direct
(917) 273-8110 cell
(212) 805-0383 fax
http://nysd.uscourts.gov/

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The NYIC is Postponing Events Scheduled for This Week

Dear friends,

We hope this e-mail finds you well; our thoughts are with everyone who experienced Hurricane Sandy and are dealing with its impact.

Given current conditions throughout the area, including lack of email and phone service at the NYIC, we are postponing NYIC events scheduled for the next few days, including:

TRAINING on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status—scheduled for Wednesday, October 31, 2012 from 2:00pm – 4:00pm: postponed till further notice

TRAINING on Battered Spouse Waivers & VAWA Self-Petitions —scheduled for Thursday, November 1, 2012 from 10:00am – 1:00pm: postponed till further notice

TRAINING on Immigration Consequences of Criminal Dispositions —scheduled for Friday, November 2, 2012 from 2:00pm – 5:00pm: postponed till further notice

DACA Clinic: Scheduled for November 1st, 6PM: postponed till further notice

MEXICAN Consulate ID Event: Scheduled for October 31 to November 4th, 9am to 2pm at PS 24 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn: The start date is postponed; we will know in the next day or two whether or not it will happen at all at this time or whether it will be postponed entirely to a later date.

While our lack of phone and email service makes communication difficult, we do have an email address that you can write to us to for urgent matters: [email protected]. We will check this address two to three times a day until our regular email service is up and running.

If you sent an email to NYIC staff anytime after 7 p.m. Monday, October 29th, we likely did not receive it. If it is urgent, you can forward it to the gmail address above. Otherwise, we will send out a notification once we’re back online and have full communications capacity again.

Thank you; and again, our best wishes to everyone as we recover from this storm.

Chung-Wha Hong
Executive Director
The New York Immigration Coalition

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WSJ: Rise of the Tiger Nation

WSJ: Rise of the Tiger Nation

WSJ: Rise of the Tiger Nation

On Saturday, Oct. 27, the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled, “Rise of the Tiger Nation.” (Click on the link in the title to read the full article.) It adopted wholesale the conclusions and statistics from this summer’s Pew Research Center survey of Asian Americans.  In fact, the author wrote at the start of the article:

No one would dispute the opening paragraph of the Pew Research Center’s massive study of Asian-Americans, released over the summer: “Asian-Americans are the highest-income, best-educated and fastest-growing racial group in the United States. They are more satisfied than the general public with their lives, finances and the direction of the country, and they place more value than other Americans do on marriage, parenthood, hard work and career success.”

Actually, this past summer, many APA groups came forward with strong criticisms of the Pew Research Center’s study, pointing out its oversimplification of the lives and experiences of the diverse community represented by APAs.  Like the Pew Research Center report, this article perpetuates the model minority myth, painting a far rosier picture than actual circumstances would support.  In the legal profession, APAs continue to be under-represented at the upper ranks of law firms, corporations, government, academia and the judiciary.

A search on this blog under “Pew Research Center” will call up the reactions we were able to collect this summer to that report.  Take a look for yourself.  Contrary to the WSJ article, many would dispute the opening paragraph of the Pew Research Center study.  About the only statement that would not be disputed is the fact that APAs are the fastest growing racial group in the United States.  But the growth of the APA population alone does not signify that all APAs are doing well and succeeding across the board.

What do you think of the WSJ article?  Is there a “Tiger Nation” and is it on the rise?

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On Saturday, October 27, AABANY held its 4th annual Upstate Roadshow at Syracuse Law School.  Organized by the Student Outreach Committee, co-chairs Irene Tan and Ben Chan brought the downstate contingent that included Amy Ngai, Amy Luo, Thomas Hou, Board member Francis Chin and Executive Director Yang Chen.  They were met upstate by Louis Jim, associate at Bond, Schoeneck & King, Tiffany Lee, Assistant US Attorney in the Western District of New York, Mary Traynor, attorney at the Advocacy Group, and Shelly Tsai, attorney at Legal Services of Central New York.

Law students from the law schools at Syracuse, Buffalo and Albany spent the afternoon learning about AABANY, its mission and activities, engaged in an interactive networking workshop and participated in panel discussions about resume writing, interviewing and career paths in the law.

After the panels concluded, panelists and law students headed to Dinosaur Barbecue where they continued to chat and connect over pulled pork sandwiches, mac and cheese, caesar salad and other delectable fare.

Thanks to everyone who attended, and we look forward to strengthening our connections with our friends and members upstate. If you wish to contact the Student Outreach Committee co-chairs, Ben and Irene, send email to [email protected].

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Rutgers-Newark APALSA held its 11th anniversary Mela at the law school on Thursday night, October 25.  Mela is the Sanskrit word for “gathering,” and this annual event celebrates various Asian cultures and honors the achievements of Asian Americans in the legal community. 

This year, Rutgers-Newark APALSA honored the Hon. David F. Bauman, Presiding Judge, Civil Division, Superior Court of New Jersey, Monmouth County.  Judge Bauman is the first Asian American judge in Monmouth Vicinage.

Also honored was our very own Jean Lee, President of AABANY and VP and Assistant General Counsel at JP Morgan Chase & Co.  After accepting her award, Jean delivered an impassioned and inspiring speech about her path to career success, overcoming significant struggles and hurdles along the way.  “Don’t say no to yourself before someone else does,” she advised the students, sharing the wisdom of a friend and mentor.

The evening also featured a dance performance by Rutgers SAPA (South Asian Performing Artists), delicious Pan-Asian buffet, open bar and dancing.  Congratulations to the honorees and to Rutgers-Newark APALSA on a great Mela!

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ELECTION DAY 2012: AALDEF YPC Viewing Party

ELECTION DAY 2012: VIEWING PARTY!

AALDEF’s Young Professionals Committee Is Hosting an Election Day Viewing Party at Manhattan Proper!

Come join us as we witness history and watch the election results unfold.

Past and present AALDEF election protection volunteers, meet your fellow volunteers and celebrate your efforts at the polls with AALDEF friends, supporters, and staff!

DETAILS:

November 6, 2012, from 7pm…until the next president is announced!

Manhattan Proper (6 Murray Street between Broadway and Church)

Specials: $4 Drafts All Night, $5 House Wines and $6 Well Drinks (until 9pm)

Questions? Email [email protected]

RSVP on Facebook or to [email protected]

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Vinoo Varghese Authors Amici Brief Quoted in NYT

Vinoo Varghese Authors Amici Brief Quoted in NYT

Board member Vinoo Varghese, principal at Varghese & Associates PC, submitted a brief for amici curiae National Legal Aid & Defenders Association (NLADA) and the Bronx Defenders in the case of United States v. Rajaratnam, pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.  The brief was quoted in the October 23 New York Times article, “Appeal in Insider Trading Case Centers on Wiretap.”

A group of defense lawyers said that upholding the use of wiretaps in this case would “eviscerate the integrity of the criminal justice system.”

To read the article, click on the title.  To read the brief, go to http://bit.ly/rajaratnam_vpv.

Great work, Vinoo! Congrats!

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