Tag: Chinatown

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Press Release: AABANY Celebrates the Appointment of the Hon. Justice Randall T. Eng

The Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) and the AABANY Judiciary Committee celebrate the historic appointment of the Honorable Justice Randall T. Eng as Presiding Justice of the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, Second Department with a celebratory community dinner.

Justice Eng will be the guest of honor at a celebratory dinner to be held Thursday, January 31, 2013.  The dinner will bring together Asian American organizations from all over New York, including Chinatown-based civic groups, Asian Americans in law enforcement, lawyers, judges, law students, and friends.  The dinner will be held at 6:30P.M. at Delight 28 Restaurant, 28 Pell Street New York, New York 10013.

Justice Eng is the first Asian American to serve as a Presiding Justice in New York State’s history.  With this appointment, Justice Eng adds to his long list of notable ‘firsts,’ such as being the first Asian Pacific American Assistant District Attorney in the State of New York, for which the AABANY Prosecutors’ Committee honored him at its third anniversary reception in 2011.

“Justice Eng has demonstrated strong leadership and exceptional jurisprudential skill at every level in our court system and will do so as Presiding Justice.  Moreover, as an Asian American trailblazer, Justice Eng is an inspiration to the Asian American bar and the Asian American community at large,” said Vincent Chang, Co-Chair of AABANY’s Judiciary Committee.

To read the full text of the press release go to: http://aabany.org/associations/6701/files/PR%20-%20AABANY%20-%20Randall%20Eng%20dinner_final.pdf

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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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AABANY Testifies at City Council Districting Commission

On August 16, AABANY, through its Executive Director Yang Chen, gave testimony at a public hearing convened by the City Council Districting Commission.  AABANY testified as a member of ACCORD, the Asian American Community Coalition on Redistricting and Democracy, and urged the Commission to draw lines that kept communities of interest together in Manhattan.  Citing the Voting Rights Act and applicable Supreme Court precedent, AABANY indicated that the current district lines in Chinatown and the Lower East Side may not comport with legal requirements.  As part of its testimony, AABANY submitted a copy of its March 2003 letter to the Department of Justice, which dealt with the same issue.  To read the testimony and the letter, go to bit.ly/blog_Testimny_CityCnclDstrctngComm

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I am Pvt. Danny Chen Rally to Demand Respect and Honor in the Army

On October 3, 2011, Pvt. Danny Chen was found dead with a bullet to his head after being hazed and being subjected to racial slurs by his superiors. Eight soldiers have been charged in connection with his death. The jury at the first military court martial, US v. Holcomb, only found the defendant guilty of maltreatment and assault and battery. He was sentenced to only 30 days confinement, one level reduction of rank, and a $1,181.55 fine. Is this justice?

Where: Columbus Park, Chinatown

(At the corner Bayard and Mulberry)

When: 2:00PM, August 11, 2012

OCA New York Chapter, with co-sponsors: Chinatown Partnership, Chinese Progressive Association, MinKwon Center for Community Action, Asian American Arts Centre, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, Asian Americans for Equality, Councilmember Margaret Chin (list in formation)

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Chinatown Community Development After 9/11

Chinatown Community Development After 9/11

Julie Huang shared this event with us.  Here’s an excerpt:

You are invited to join your neighbors on Tuesday, March 27, beginning at 7:00 pm at Mariners’ Temple Baptist Church, to share your personal perspective on Chinatown’s development.  Did the events of 9/11 change the direction of this neighborhood forever?  Have some things improved?  What has been neglected?  Is there a unified vision of Chinatown that we can all set our sights on and work toward?

PROGRAM

– Overview of post-9/11 Chinatown, presented by Wendy Cheung, Beyond Ground Zero Network

– Audience discussion of Chinatown concerns

– Reflection and Perspective offered by:

Bethany Li, Staff Attorney, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund

Jan Lee, V. P. Exec. Board of Dir. Hamilton Madison House

JoAnn Lum, Executive Director, National Mobilization Against Sweatshops