AABANY Hosts Annual Holiday Party at Sour Mouse

On December 14, AABANY hosted its Annual Holiday Party at Sour Mouse, a social club on the Lower East Side. The event was organized by Beatrice Leong, Co-VP of Programs and Operations. The event was filled to capacity within days of registration opening, and the actual location was not disclosed until the morning of the event. Many attendees expressed pleasant surprise that the party was held at Sour Mouse rather than a law firm.

Nearly 80 AABANY members filled a large section of the venue reserved for us. Guests enjoyed bar food (pizza, wings, mozzarella sticks) and an open bar. We had a live DJ and an artist sketching portraits of our guests in real-time on the spot. Those not drinking, eating, or mingling got to shoot pool and reveal their hidden pool shark (or not). We also had a business card raffle, and the winners got a bottle of Jameson and a bottle of Bombay Sapphire.

Thanks to everyone who came out to Sour Mouse to celebrate the holidays with us. AABANY wishes you all a happy holiday season!

Membership Mixer at Sour Mouse on August 25

On Wednesday, August 25, 2021, the Membership Committee hosted a Mixer at Sour Mouse, a fun venue in the Lower East Side that first opened up a year ago. It is an inviting space for people to gather to eat, drink, and play. AABANY members and friends who joined us were able to mingle and meet over a few games of pool, drinks, and pizza, surrounded by works of art from local artists and a live comedy show in the performance space on the far side of the room. All this was available without a cover, and the Membership Committee paid for a pool table and pizza. The bar offered plenty of drink choices. Guests also could opt to play ping pong or foosball if billiards were not their thing.

Sour Mouse is Asian owned and operated. They have daily events, foosball, pool, ping pong and a full bar. Please show your support! For more information, visit https://www.sourmousenyc.com/. The Membership Committee will be planning future outings at Sour Mouse, so stay tuned!

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.

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