As we approach May and enter in Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI), it’s important to continue honoring the contributions and achievements of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans  every day outside of the month.

This year, the Asian Creative Foundation announced the first-ever Asian Creative Festival coming to Industry City during AAPI month. The two-day festival will take place from Saturday, May 20 to Sunday, May 21, spanning the complex’s 10,000-square-foot Five Two A event space.

The city’s largest AAPI creative organizations will come together for the event, including: ACE Pop-Up, Mixed Asian Media, East Side Stories and Asian Creative Network. Together, the organizations will aid the festivals programming to properly reflect the AAPI community.

“We are thrilled to gather for this inaugural festival celebrating AAPI culture and creatives,” said Susana Chen of the Asian Creative Foundation. “Our vision for the Asian Creative Festival is to cultivate a place for our community to exchange stories, inspire creativity, and support one another. We look forward to allowing visitors to experience first-hand the unique creative expression and perspective of the AAPI community through our curated programming.”

Asian Creative Festival will be open to everyone and is themed “Be Colorful.” Guests will be able to shop from a variety of AAPI-owned businesses at the pop-up marketplace, offering everything from floral arrangements to clothing, artwork to culinary bites.

“We are excited to host this incredible event and continue amplifying AAPI culture and creativity,” said Jim Somoza, Managing Director of Industry City. “Anyone who has shopped the Upper Floors for one-of-a-kind textiles from India, enjoyed a delicious meal at Japan Village, shared sake with friends, or found inspiration at Yi Gallery knows there are so many rich experiences AAPI creatives have brought to Industry City.”

Asian Creative Talks will be part of the festival’s ticketed programming. Keynote speakers such as creative director, Steven Wakabayashi, and award-winning designer and artist Rich Tu will share insights as Chella Man, Industry City’s artist-in-residence will take part in a Q&A session.

At the end of each day, there will be a screening by Mixed Asian Media and East Side Stories of an AAPI-directed film.

Though entry is free, an RSVP will be required. You can reserve yours today on Industry City’s website. Learn more about Asian Creative Festival here.

May 20-21 from 11am-9:30pm

Industry City, 33 35th St., Brooklyn

The post NYC’s First-Ever Asian Creative Festival Is Headed To Industry City appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here

The ball is in President Joe Biden’s court to “get stuff done.” Last Wednesday, April 19, Mayor Eric Adams renewed pressure on federal authorities to assist with newly-arrived asylum seekers by this upcoming May 11, the expiration of public health restriction Title 42, which Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump used to turn away asylum seekers under the pretense of preventing the spread of Covid-19.

“As a city, we have done everything in our power to provide support to the tens of thousands of asylum seekers who have arrived at our doorstep,” said Adams. “While New York City has shouldered the costs of this crisis largely alone, we have always said that this is a national crisis that requires a coordinated, comprehensive response from the federal government. To deny people the ability to work legally sets them up for failure. 

“The actions we’re urging our federal partners to do, all of which can be done without support from the Republican leaders in Congress who refuse to do their jobs, will ensure that asylum seekers in New York City, and across the country, can do what they came here to do — work lawfully and build stable lives.”

The city is intaking roughly 200 migrants daily according to the Mayor’s Office. 

Adams’ gameplan for the Biden administration includes re-designating or extending Temporary Protective Status for South American, Central American, and African nations listed, which he says will allow for more work authorization for eligible individuals. He also recommends opening up humanitarian parole, which allows migrants “who may be inadmissible or otherwise ineligible for admission” to temporarily remain in the country, along with ramping up the number of those reviewing immigration cases. 

Such plans makeup a portion of Adams’ “The Road Forward” playbook, which was announced last month to address the future of newly-arrived asylum seekers. The Mayor’s blueprint intends to “integrate” migrants into New York City by adding some to the workforce. Adams specifically mentions vacancies in agriculture, transit, manufacturing and the service industry as fields migrants can fill if they are legally allowed to work. 

This past February, male asylum seekers told Amsterdam News many found jobs in Manhattan since arriving and employment was a key reason why they initially protested relocation to a Brooklyn facility. 

Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Manuel Castro adds that many migrants experience hopelessness since arriving in the United States. He thinks employment can fix that.

“Their situation is turning from the search for the American dream to a nightmare,” said Castro. “Because they’re not able to work [and] they feel shame that they cannot provide for their families and they cannot contribute to the city and United States. And they feel [as] they’re failing as parents and providers for their families here and back home. But there is hope.” 

He adds that Salvadorans and Hondurans eligible for TPS frequently thrive in the “Big Apple” thanks to work permits. 

Adams mentions many African asylum seekers are currently assisted by imams in the Bronx. He added “enough was enough” and that New Yorkers “deserved better from their national government.” 

The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) agreed with Adams’ assessment on employment, and said the immigrant and refugee rights group would join the mayor’s calls on the Biden administration. 

“Finding work is a basic and essential first step to allowing people to build independent lives for themselves and their families,” said NYIC’s Theodore Moore in his statement. “Without the ability to move forward with their legal cases and gain much needed work authorizations, our newest arrivals are forced to live in desperate circumstances that often leads them to work in an unregulated economy open to abuse and wage theft.”

But the same immigration advocates also condemned Adams just a few days later over comments at this week’s African American Mayors Association Conference, where he said the migrant crisis was destroying New York City and that none of “his folks” came to Washington D.C. to fight for resources. 

Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

The post Mayor Adams continues asking federal officials for help with incoming migrants as Title 42’s expiration looms appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here