Chinatown Ice Cream Factory Archives

October 2, 2023October 17, 2023

AABANY Honored with OCA-NY Asian Pacific American Advocates of New York’s Community Award

On the evening of September 22, 2023, OCA-NY Asian Pacific American Advocates of New York presented a Community Award to AABANY. Honorees gathered in Chinatown to attend OCA-NY’s Community Service and Leadership Awards Gala, hosted at the House of Joy on Pell Street in Manhattan Chinatown.

OCA-NY is a national non-profit civil rights organization, dedicated to “promoting and protecting the political, economic, and cultural rights of Asian Pacific Americans in America.” Founded in 1973, OCA was established to advocate for Asian Americans on the national level, providing a robust platform for representation and change for Asian Americans across America. OCA’s New York Chapter hosts a variety of programs, focused on transforming public policy and engaging in active community advocacy.

This year’s Community Service and Leadership Awards Gala was the first in-person gala hosted by the New York chapter since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The gala celebrated a wide range of renowned local leaders, as well as organizations that have made significant contributions to the community. AABANY congratulates our fellow honorees:

Tzi Ma, Lifetime Achievement Award
Assemblymember Steven Raga, Leadership Award
Mohamed Q. Amin, Trailblazer Award
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, Community Award

As recognized by OCA-NY, AABANY has made significant contributions to the AAPI community through various initiatives and programs. Established in 2015, AABANY’s Pro Bono clinic has provided crucial legal assistance and support to members of the AAPI community who may be facing legal challenges but are hindered in finding legal advice and information that is linguistically and culturally accessible. This initiative has been supported by AABANY’s Legal Referral and Information Service (LRIS), started in 2020. Since then, LRIS has served as a vital resource for individuals seeking legal representation, ensuring that community members have access to reliable legal information and can connect with qualified attorneys who can assist them with their legal needs by speaking their language and understanding their cultural background and context. Responding to rising incidents of anti-Asian hate and violence, AABANY has also established an Anti-Asian Violence Task Force. Active since 2021, the Task Force has worked tirelessly to raise awareness, advocate for policy change, and provide support to victims and their families. Collectively, these initiatives reflect AABANY’s unwavering commitment to serving and advocating for the AAPI community, making a positive impact on and advancing the well-being of the AAPI community in New York and beyond.

At the gala, former AABANY President Vince Chang presented the award to AABANY, which was accepted by Yang Chen, Executive Director. OCA-NY presented each honoree with a Chinese character, rendered in calligraphy and framed, which OCA-NY believes best represented each honoree. AABANY’s character was 廉 (lián), symbolizing “fairness and integrity.”

Many members of AABANY’s leadership attended the gala to commemorate our accomplishments alongside those of other distinguished community leaders. At AABANY’s table were:

Karen Kim, President
Yang Chen, Executive Director
Vince Chang, Former President (and Immediate Past President of the New York County Lawyers Association, its first AAPI President)
Beatrice Leong, Co-Vice President of Programing & Operations
Francis Chin, Director of Technology, Professional Development Committee Co-Chair
Nandar Win Kerr, Professional Development Committee Vice-Chair
May Wong, Pro Bono and Community Service Committee Vice-Chair
Kevin Hsi, Government Service & Public Interest Committee Co-Chair

Also in attendance were: Yen-Yi Anderson, Solo & Small Firm Practice Committee Co-Chair; Glenn Magpantay, LGBT Committee Co-Chair; Richard In, active member; Tim Wong, former Treasurer.

The Community Service and Leadership Awards Gala at the House of Joy was a remarkable gathering that celebrated not only AABANY’s accomplishments, but also the collective strength of our community. AABANY extends our sincere appreciation to our colleagues, supporters, and the AABANY leadership who took part in the celebration. Together, our work reaffirms and reinforces our shared vision of building a brighter, more equitable future for New York’s AAPI community.

August 14, 2023August 14, 2023

AABANY Women’s Committee Hosts Second Annual Ice Cream Social on August 4th

On August 4, 2023, AABANY members gathered on the lawn of Madison Square Park for the second annual Ice Cream Social, presented by AABANY’s Women’s Committee. Organized by Co-Chairs Renee Yao, Wen Zhang, and Jennifer Wu, the event was a massive success. Twenty-nine members attended the event, enjoying ice cream from Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Special thanks goes out to Christina Seid, AABANY member and owner of Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, for providing the delicious ice cream.

On this particular Thursday in August, the city welcomed uncharacteristically beautiful weather, sunlight beaming down on attendees with not a cloud in the sky. Cool breezes throughout the evening helped maintain a pleasant temperature, perfect for an outdoor summer gathering. Attendees snacked on varied selections from the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, sampling flavors ranging from chocolate chip to pandan and taro. Jennifer supplemented the ice cream with lemonades from Shake Shack, refreshing and sweet.

While enjoying their ice cream, members struck up conversations with one another, gathering in little clusters all across the bright green lawn. Smiles could be seen on everyone’s faces as they got to know each other, both personally and professionally. Jennifer’s two dogs, Katsu and Mochi, joined in on the fun, playing with each other and the attendees, receiving lots of pats and kisses. The event ended at 7 PM, with attendees regretfully waving their goodbyes as they headed home, hearts warm and stomachs full with delectable ice cream.

We are grateful to the Women’s Committee for hosting this lovely event. In addition, we thank the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory for providing us with the tasty ice cream that made this event a success. Lastly, thank you to all of the AABANY members who showed up, sharing your time with us on a busy weekday evening. To learn more about AABANY’s Women’s Committee, click here. To learn more about the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, click here.

March 21, 2022March 21, 2022

AABANY Holds its First “Restaurant Series” Event

On Friday, March 18, AABANY held its first gathering in their Restaurant Series, where AABANY members and friends gather together at Asian-owned eateries to network and support the community.

14 People came to Hop Lee, a Chinatown institution. The attendees had a traditional 8 Course Cantonese dinner. After dinner, some members went to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory for dessert. (Fun fact: Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is owned by an AABANY member, Christina Seid, who is a 1L Law student at Touro.)

Please review our weekly announcements for upcoming restaurant dates, where AABANY will be traveling all over NYC and trying out different cuisines for businesses that were affected by COVID.

Next in the series is a visit to Nowon in the East Village on March 31. For details, see https://www.aabany.org/events/event_details.asp?legacy=1&id=1624192.

July 16, 2021July 16, 2021

AABANY Women’s Committee Hosts Outdoor Ice Cream Networking Event on July 15

On July 15, the Asian American Bar Association of New York’s (AABANY’s) Women’s Committee hosted an outdoor networking event on the Madison Square Park lawn, offering a variety of Chinatown Ice Cream Factory ice cream flavors to attendees that ranged from classic vanilla to ginger and black sesame. The AABANY Women’s Committee planned this networking event with two main objectives in mind: to ease everyone back into in-person events in a casual, outdoor setting and to get everyone comfortable with each other so that the Committee can engage in more serious conversations and initiatives in the future. The Women’s Committee was able to secure exciting ice cream flavors thanks to Co-Chair Jennifer Wu’s friendship with Christina Seid, owner of the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory and recently admitted law student. Wen Zhang remarked that one highlight of co-chairing for the Women’s Committee was supporting other remarkable women in law, and Christina is a case in point. As a business owner and mother, Christina already has her hands full, yet she is eager to embark on a possible second career through a flex program which entails devoting her entire Sunday to law school, in person, for the next year.

Attendees welcomed meeting new faces over refreshing ice cream in the remarkably warm weather, joining together to applaud and congratulate Vice Chair Grace Jamgochian’s recent election as a partner at Shearman & Sterling. Ashley Shan, an associate at Shearman, noted that she appreciated AABANY’s efforts and events, particularly because she is the Co-Chair of her firm’s Asian affinity group. She expressed a hope to work with and be inspired by AABANY initiatives for implementation at work in the future.

AABANY thanks the Women’s Committee for hosting such a fun, summer-appropriate event and the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory for providing delicious ice cream. To learn more about AABANY’s Women’s Committee, click here. To learn more about the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory Committee, click here.

June 4, 2019June 4, 2019

AABANY Hosts its Third Annual Judges’ Reception in Celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

On Thursday, May 30, 2019, AABANY’s Judiciary Committee hosted its third annual Judges’ Reception at the Surrogate’s Courthouse, 31 Chambers Street. The reception honored newly inducted, elevated and retiring judges in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

The honorees recognized at the event were individuals who represent the significant strides that Asian Pacific Americans have achieved, as well as the ongoing fight for diversity within our leading institutions.

New York State Senator John C. Liu was slated to be the keynote speaker for the reception, but due to pressing matters in Albany he was not able to attend. The Honorable Phillip Hom, Civil Court of the City of New York, delivered remarks on his behalf. Judge Hom is a friend of Senator John C. Liu from their days at Bronx High School of Science and Binghamton University. Judge Hom also served as the Chief of Staff of then-Councilman John C. Liu from 2002-2005.

At the reception, the following judges were honored:

Hon. Shahabuddeen Ally
Hon. Karen Cortes
Hon. Shorab Ibrahim
Hon. Donald Leo
Hon. Ushir Pandit-Durant
Hon. John Zhuo Wang
Hon. Wendy Changyong Li
Hon. Archana Rao
Hon. Lillian Wan
Hon. Karen Bacdayan
Hon. Michael H. Park

All the honorees are Asian Pacific Americans Judges who were recently inducted to the bench or elevated in New York. To learn more about them and to read our press release for the event, click here. To learn more about the Judiciary Committee and to reach its co-chairs, go here: http://www.aabany.org/?page=115.

Following the awards ceremony, all attendees enjoyed catching up with each other or making new connections, over delicious food and dessert catered by Nom Wah and Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.

We thank everyone that braved the rain to make this year’s reception another successful one.

Thanks to AABANY Legal Intern Katy Kim for providing the photos for this blog post.