Celebrate 2026 AAPI Heritage Month with AABANY!

In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month this year, AABANY is presenting or co-sponsoring several events this month. We hope to see you all there! Follow the links for more details, and please note the registration deadlines. This blog post will be updated throughout the month, as new events get added on, so check back for any updates.

May 2, 2026 

AABANY Co-Sponsors: Korean Hat Day at Yankee Stadium

1:35pm – Yankees Stadium, 1 E. 161 E. 161st Street

This event has already occured.

May 3, 2026

AABANY Sunday Run Day

11:00 am – Start at Bedford Ave (L); End at Canal St. & Chrystie St.
This event is preparation for the May 23 AAPI 5k run.

This event has already occurred.

May 5-7, 2026

Asian Comedy Fest 2026: AABANY Discount Available

7pm and 9pm – Sugar Mouse NYC, 47 3rd Avenue, Lower Level, New York, NY 10003

For more details, click here.

May 6, 2026

AABANY Co-Sponsors: Power in Unity: Strengthening Communities Together

1:00 pm – Kings County Supreme Court, Criminal Term, Courtroom 2.95, 320 Jay Street, Brooklyn, New York 11201

For more details, click here.

May 6, 2026

AABANY Co-Sponsors: Beginner’s Mahjong

6:00pm – Sparrow’s Nest Studio, 35 W. 35th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10018

Registration is closed for this event.

May 6, 2026

AABANY Presents: Dumplings & Discussion Series Featuring Judge Pamela K. Chen

6:00pm -Midtown location – to be emailed to registrants.

Registration is closed for this event.

May 9, 2026

AABANY Bi-Monthly Brooklyn Pro Bono Legal Clinic

12:30 pm – 2:30 pm – CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Ave, Brooklyn, New York 11232

For more details and to register by May 7, click here.

May 10, 2026

AABANY Sunday Run Day

11:00 am – Start at Bedford Ave (L); End at Canal St. & Chrystie St.
This event is preparation for the May 23 AAPI 5k run.

For more details, click here.

May 12, 2026

AABANY Co-Sponsors: Reflections of Unity and Strength in our AANHPI Communities

12:30pm – Queens Supreme Court – Civil Term, 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Ceremonial Courtroom 25, Jamaica, New York  11435

For more details, click here.

May 16, 2026

AABANY Presents: 3rd Annual Wellness Retreat

10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Blue Cliff Monastery, 3 Mindfulness Rd, Pine Bush, New York 12566

For more details and to register by May 14, click here.

May 16, 2026

AABANY Co-Sponsors: Asian Americans and the Law, Featuring Hon. Denny Chin

2pm – White Plains Public Library, 100 Martine Avenue, White Plains, New York  10601

For more details, click here.

May 17, 2026

AABANY Sunday Run Day

11:00 am – Start at Bedford Ave (L); End at Canal St. & Chrystie St.
This event is preparation for the May 23 AAPI 5k run.

For more details, click here.

May 18, 2026

Appellate Division, First Dept., Presents “Fred Korematsu and His Fight for Justice: A Historical Reenactment”

5:45pm – Appellate Division, First Department, 27 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010

For more details, click here.

May 19, 2026

AABANY Co-Sponsors: New York County Civil Court’s Screening of “Voices Against Anti-Asian Hate”

5:30 pm – 7:00 pm – 111 Centre Street, Room 107, New York, New York 10013

For more details, click here.

May 19, 2026

AABANY Judiciary Committee Presents: 2026 Annual Judges’ Reception

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Nexus Club, 100 Church Street, New York, New York 10007

For more details and to register by May 17, click here.

May 19, 2026

AABANY Book Club Presents: We Do Not Part by Han Kang

6:00 pm – Anderson & Associates, 347 W 36th St, Suite 1003, New York, New York 10018

For more details and to register by May 17, click here.

May 20, 2026

AABANY Monthly Manhattan Pro Bono Legal Clinic

6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), 111 Norfolk St., New York, New York 10002

For more details and to register by May 18, click here.

May 21, 2026

AABANY Issues Committee Monthly Meeting

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Zoom

For more details and to register by May 19, click here.

May 21, 2026

AABANY’S Solo & Small Firm Practice Committee Presents: Networking Night at Blue Panda Office Spaces

6:00pm – Blue Panda Office Spaces, 134 Broadway, 3rd and 4th Floors, New York, NY 11249

For more details and to register by May 17, click here.

May 21, 2026

AABANY’s Membership Committee Presents: AAPI Heritage Night at the NY Liberty

8:00 pm – Barclays Center, 620 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, New York  11217

For more information, click here.

May 23, 2026

Join Team AABANY for 2026 NYC AAPI 5K to Support AALFNY

8:00 am – Pier 45, Hudson River Greenway, New York, NY 10014

For more details and to register by May 5, click here.

May 26, 2026

Kings County Family Court’s AAPI Heritage Committee Presents: A Celebration of Asian Resilience

1:10pm – Brooklyn Family Court, Judges Boardroom, 330 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

For more details, click here.

May 27, 2026

AABANY Co-Sponsors: Fourth Annual Hon. Randall T. Eng Award Program

12:45 pm – 2:15 pm – New York Supreme Court Appellate Division – Second Department, 45 Monroe Place, Brooklyn, New York, New York 11201

For more details and to register by May 15, click here.

May 27, 2026

AABANY Trial Reenactment: Born American: United States v. Wong Kim Ark

5:00 pm – Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, 200 Liberty Street, New York, New York  10281

For more details, click here. RSVP by Thursday, May 21.

May 28, 2026

AABANY Annual Dinner 2026

5:30pm – 12:00am – Cipriani Wall Street, 55 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005

For more details, click here.

May 31, 2026

AABANY Presents: Match Day at Gotham FC (vs Houston Dash)

3:00 pm – Sports Illustrated Stadium, 600 Cape May St, Harrison, New Jersey 07029

For more details and to register by May 25, click here.

GSPI and Judiciary Committees Co-Sponsor “A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience: Then and Now in the Context of Korematsu and Thind”

On May 20, 2025, the GSPI and Judiciary Committees co-sponsored “A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience: Then and Now in the Context of Korematsu and Thind” in conjunction with the Queens County Women’s Bar Association (QCWBA) and the Equal Justice in the Courts Committee (QSC-EJIC).  The event featured Queens Supreme Court Justice Karen Lin, QCWBA President Preet Gill, Court Attorney Liman Mimi Hu, Queens Civil Court Judge Soma Syed, St. John’s University School of Law Professor Philip Lee, and Associate Law Clerk Johnny Thach.  Welcome remarks also included Queens Supreme Court Justice Frederick D.R. Sampson and Judge Shahabuddeen A. Ally, Administrative Judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York.
 
In celebration of AANHPI Heritage Month in May, the event highlighted three landmark cases in American history on race, civil rights, and belonging: United States v. Thind, Gong Lum v. Rice, and Korematsu v. United StatesThind was a 1923 case which held that Thind, an Indian man who served for the U.S. in World War I, was not Caucasian and therefore ineligible for naturalized citizenship.  Lum was a 1927 case that upheld racial segregation and denied admission to a Chinese American nine-year-old student to an all-white school district.  Korematsu was a 1944 case that upheld the conviction of a Japanese American man for violating an exclusion order mandating people of Japanese ancestry, including Japanese Americans, to be incarcerated in internment camps under suspicions, with no factual basis, of being enemy aliens involved in espionage and sabotage.
 
The featured speakers, divided in teams, examined each case through multiple lenses: the historical background around each case, the remarkable individuals who stood for justice and challenged exclusionary and racist policies and laws at the time, the holding of each case, and what transpired after.  Professor Lee emphasized the theme of Asian Americans as “perpetual foreigners” and the construction of race in the context of racial triangulation.
 
The event was well-attended with over 100 people.  Momos from Bajeko Sekuwa and bubble tea from YAAAS Tea were provided as food and refreshments.  Thank you to the speakers, organizers, co-sponsors, and attendees.  Click here to learn more and join the GSPI Committee and here to learn more and join the Judiciary Committee.

Celebrate 2025 AAPI Heritage Month with AABANY!

In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month this year, AABANY is presenting or co-sponsoring several events this month. We hope to see you all there! Follow the links for more details, and please note the registration deadlines.

May 1, 2025

AABANY Co-Sponsors: Karaoke Showdown

6:00 pm, 22 W 32nd St. 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001.

Registration is closed for this event.


May 4, 2025

AABANY Sunday Run Day

8:30 AM (Meet at 8:30 am. Runtime 9:00 am.)

In the lawn near the 86th Street A train station (Central Park West and West 86th)

This event is preparation for the May 24 AAPI 5k run. For more information, click here.

May 10, 2025

AABANY Co-Sponsors: Southern Brooklyn AAPI Heritage Month Celebration 2025

11:00 am. P.S. 105, 1031 59th St
Brooklyn, New York 11219

For more information, click here.

May 11, 2025

AABANY Sunday Run Day

8:30 AM (Meet at 8:30 am. Runtime 9:00 am.)

In the lawn near the 86th Street A train station (Central Park West and West 86th)

This event is preparation for the May 24 AAPI 5k run. For more information, click here.

May 14, 2025

AABANY Co-Sponsors: Third Annual Hon. Randall T. Eng Award Program

12 :45 – 2:15 PM – New York Supreme Court Appellate Division – Second Department
45 Monroe Place, Brooklyn, New York, New York 11201

Click here for more information.

May 14, 2025

Join AABANY for Mets v. Pirates Baseball Game

Citi Field / Mets Stadium, 41 Seaver Way, Flushing, New York 11368

Click here for more information.

May 14, 2025

AABANY Co-Sponsors: Talking with Trailblazers

6:00 pm – Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
1 Manhattan West, 395 9th Ave., New York, New York 10001

Click here for more information.

May 18, 2025

AABANY Sunday Run Day

8:30 AM (Meet at 8:30 am. Runtime 9:00 am.)

In the lawn near the 86th Street A train station (Central Park West and West 86th)

This event is preparation for the May 24 AAPI 5k run. For more information, click here.

May 18, 2025

AABANY Co-Sponsors: Asian Americans in Public Service

2:00 – 5:00 pm, Clinton G. Martin Park Main Room-New Hyde Park Rd. & Marcus Ave, New Hyde Park, New York 11042

Click here for more information.

May 20, 2025

GSPI & Judiciary Committees Co-Sponsor: “A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience”

12:45 – 2:15 pm, Queens Supreme Court – Civil Term, Ceremonial Courtroom 2588-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, New York 11435

Click here for more information.

May 21, 2025

AABANY Monthly Manhattan Pro Bono Legal Clinic

6:30 – 8:30 pm, AAFE Community Center – 111 Norfolk Street, New York, New York 10002

Click here for more information.

May 24, 2025

AABANY Presents: 2025 NYC AAPI 5K – Pier 45

Hudson River Greenway, New York, New York 10014

Click here to register and find event details.

May 24, 2025

Community Memorial Service for Honorable Justice Dorothy Chin-Brandt

12:00 – 2:00 PM – Glow Cultural Center 133 – 29, 41st Avenue Flushing, New York 11355

Click here for details.

May 28, 2025

AABANY Co-Sponsors: “Voices Against Asian Hate.”

12:00 to 2:30 PM–STATEN ISLAND BOROUGH HALL, ROOM 124 -10 Richmond Ter
New York, New York  10301

Click here for details.

May 29, 2025

AABANY Annual Dinner 2025

5:30 pm – 12:00 am – Cipriani Wall Street 55 Wall Street, New York, New York 10005

Click here for details.

May 31, 2025

AABANY Bi-Monthly Brooklyn Pro Bono Legal Clinic

12:30 – 2:00 pm – CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232

Click here to register to volunteer.

Blowin’ Up Documentary to be Broadcast on PBS’s POV on October 21

On Thursday, April 11, AABANY hosted a screening of “Blowin’ Up,” a documentary that explores the complex realities of sex work in New York City and the compassionate approach of a human trafficking court in Queens County.

Now on October 21, 2019, at 10 p.m. the full length feature documentary about the Queens Human Trafficking Intervention Court will be having its national broadcast on PBS’s POV (Point of View).

The film features AABANY member Honorable Toko Serita, Queens Supreme Court, as well as other heroines of the Human Trafficking Intervention Court, that work with victims of sexual exploitation who face prostitution-related charges.

We encourage everyone to mark their calendars to see this powerful film. Check your local PBS station for it’s scheduled air time in your neighborhood by clicking here!

We thank Judge Serita for sharing this information with AABANY.

AABANY Hosts Screening of the Documentary “Blowin’ Up”

On Thursday, April 11, AABANY hosted a screening of “Blowin’ Up,” a feature documentary that explores the complex realities of sex work in New York City and the compassionate approach of a human trafficking court in Queens County. The film features AABANY member Honorable Toko Serita, Queens Supreme Court, as well as other heroines of the Human Trafficking Intervention Court, that work with victims of sexual exploitation who face prostitution-related charges.

After the screening, Beatrice Leong, AABANY Government Service and Public Interest Committee Co-Chair, led a panel discussion featuring speakers from the NYPD/FBI Joint Human Trafficking Task Force and a Queens Assistant District Attorney who prosecutes human traffickers. The panelists talked about how they worked together to prosecute the traffickers and how one can identify and help a suspected trafficking victim. The panel gave important insight into how gangs and traffickers target their victims, and the audience learned that many victims are new immigrants, local high school students or children in the foster care system. “Drugs can only be used once, but a person can be used over and over.”

If you suspect someone is a victim of trafficking,  you can email New York Police Department, at [email protected] or visit https://www1.nyc.gov/site/acs/youth/identify.page to report them.

We thank Beatrice Leong and Emily Arakawa for providing the photos and write-up for this blog post.