By Maya Dower-Johnson
New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli hosted his annual Lunar New Year celebration on Thursday, at the Grand Street Settlement. During the celebration, DiNapoli honored outstanding members of New York City’s Asian community.
In Asian culture, the year of the Pig symbolizes wealth and good fortune. Preparations for the Lunar New Year begin well in advance of the new moon, as families clean and decorate their homes, sweeping out last year’s bad luck. All cleaning stops as soon as the new year begins, for fear of driving the good luck out. Many purchase new clothes so as to make a fresh start.
The color red can be seen everywhere. A symbol of good luck, red is believed to ward off bad luck and beasts. Families come together to share special meals and exchange gifts. Children often receive “lucky money,” usually in red envelopes given by their elders.
“We do this celebration every year because we certainly want to spotlight the profound impact made by the Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, the entire Pan-Asian community here in our city, our state and our nation, as well,” said DiNapoli. “Asian immigrants have made an indelible mark throughout New York City and new arrivals are continuing to help revitalize neighborhoods across the five boroughs.”
First to be honored was Jennifer Heejin Kim who joined City Bar Justice Center in 2003, directing the refugee assistance project to help asylum seekers. Heejin Kim and her staff and pro bono attorneys work to assist low income refugees, victims of violent crime, others seeking legal advice on immigration matters. She also helped found and lead the Korean Americans for Political Advancement, an organization devoted to civil rights, immigrant rights and economic justice.
“Now I know that lawyers don’t always have the best reputation,” Heejin Kim said lightheartedly. “I’m relieved to be receiving this award during the year of the pig and not necessarily, for example, the year of the rat.”
“I hope that like you, the people in this room just feel a little bit of inspiration at how fiercely attorneys have fought back against this administration’s anti-immigrant agenda,” Heejin Kim said. “During these difficult times, what gives me the greatest hope, isn’t just the legal challenges and the victories, it’s the power within our own communities.”
Chung Seto, a political strategist and community activist, was called up next. A Hong Kong native who came to New York at the age of eight, Seto has worked in government, politics, the nonprofit sector and private consulting. She was the first Asian-American spokesperson for the United States Labor Department and the first Asian-American director for the State Democratic Committee in New York. Every person or organization that Seto has been involved with has had a focus on promoting equality, opportunity and social justice. Seto lent a hand in founding the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Committee and has served on the board of a multitude of community committees, including the Chinatown YMCA.
“I take credit in trying to really expand the powerbase of Asian-Americans here in the city and in our neighborhoods, particularly in Chinatown in our state,” said Seto.
Maggie Gu, the third honoree, immigrated to America at the age of 16. In 2004, she opened Park Asia restaurant in the Sunset Park neighborhood in Brooklyn. Park Asia serves Cantonese food and Dim Sum in a sophisticated atmosphere with attentive service. Gu serves on the board of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. In the words of Comptroller DiNapoli, “This truly is a woman of big heart.”
“As a small business owner, I try my best to do the right thing and to give back like I know I should,” said Gu. “Giving back to my community is an important thing to me because my community has done so much for me. I take so much pride in where I’m from and because I want people to see how wonderful my community is.”
United Auto Workers International representative Tiffany Yee-Vo was also honored at the celebration. Yee-Vo started her career as an organizer with the UAW in 2010. She is currently the lead organizer for the graduate workers at Columbia University, UAW Local 2110, which represents 3,000 teaching assistants.
“I started organizing because I wanted to help immigrant workers, and just like all Americans, social justice starts at our workplaces,” said Yee-Vo.
“Despite anti-union tactics to threaten them, their jobs, their visa status and to divide them from their colleagues, these workers have shown to me that they refuse to remain silent and they are willing to stand up for what is right and fight.”
Lastly, Joanne Kwong, President of Pearl River Mart, was honored by the Comptroller. Born to Chinese immigrants with cultural ties to the Philippines and South Korea, Kwong began her career as an attorney. In response to the sudden closing of the legendary Pearl River Mart in 2016, she made a plan with her in-laws, the store’s founders, to reopen and revitalize the business. When the store first opened in 1971, its mission was to be a store that would bring people together to explore and celebrate Asian culture. Kwong has since opened three new locations, which feature an array of artists and cultural events as well as a plenty of delightful Asian goods.
“When I think of Lunar New Year, I think of family and I have to honor and thank the generation before us . . . ,” Kwong said. “They came to this country, really, amongst all of these language and cultural barriers and built these businesses and these cultural institutions and joined government and became lawyers and doctors and accountants and I feel humbled and quite inferior, really, to be a part of the second generation because we had it easier.”
Thursday’s celebration, held on the anniversary of DiNapoli being named Comptroller, was intimate, with happiness and festivities, including a lion dance performed by the Asian United and Cultural Exchange Council (AUCEC) and a Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan dance performed by the Grand Coalition of Seniors.
“If you look at the Chinatown here in Manhattan, the Chinatown now in Brooklyn,” said DiNapoli, “all of these wonderful communities really are making us a better state.”
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