Yuh-Line Niou Announces Run for New York State Senator

Manhattan Assemblywoman will challenge fellow Democrate Brian Kavanaugh in June 2022 primary.



Manhattan Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou has officially announced that she will challenge a fellow Democrat, Brian Kavanagh, in next year's June primary for New York state senator.

If Niou wins the election, she plans to promote post-COVID economic recovery that doesn't leave behind traditionally underrepresented communities, including working-class, minority and immigrant sectors.

"As we start down the long road to recovery, it is more important than ever to ensure communities share equally in that recovery," Niou tells the New York Daily News. "It isn't enough for things to return to a prepandemic 'normal.' We must learn from history and build a city and a state that is more equitable, safer and more inclusive than it was before. That's why I'm running for the state Senate."

Miki Sudo defends Nathan's Famous Hot Dog eating title

Wiener and still champion.



Hot dog! On Monday, Miki Sudo successfully defended her championship belt, winning the women's division of the annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest in Coney Island.

Miki Sudo retains her Nathan's Famous hot dog eating crown

The 30-year-old competitive eater from Las Vegas scarfed down 38 1/2 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes to claim the coveted chomp-ionship title for the third straight year. She also pockets a $10,000 prize.

New York lawmakers ask Obama for official U.S. apology for Chinese Exclusion Act

"To Chinese Americans, their descendants, and all whose lives were affected by the Chinese Exclusion Act."


A soap advertisement from the 1880s, sub-titled 'The Chinese Must Go'
In New York, a group of state lawmakers have sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to issue a government apology for the passage and enforcement of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which specifically targeted and barred Chinese immigrants from entering or becoming citizens of the United States.

Signed into federal law by President Chester A. Arthur in 1882, and fueled by widespread anti-Chinese sentiment, the Chinese Exclusion Act was one of the most significant restrictions on free immigration in U.S. history, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers. It was the first law implemented to prevent a specific ethnic group from immigrating to the United States, and lasted for over sixty years.

The letter, written by state Assemblyman Ron Kim and signed by twenty other state legislators, calls for the President to issue an official apology on behalf of the United States Government "to Chinese Americans, their descendants, and all whose lives were affected by the Chinese Exclusion Act."

Gas station owner fights off armed robber with his shoe

Armed with nothing more than footwear and guts, 58-year-old Amrik Singh thwarted a masked gunman.



File under badass. Folks, let us give it up for the New York gas station owner who successfully thwarted an attempted armed robbery by throwing his shoe at the gunman and chasing him out of his store.

VIDEOS: Hyde Park store owner fights off gunman

Earlier this month, 58-year-old Amrik Singh, owner of the Citgo gas station in Staatsburg, found himself face to face with a masked man who walked in wielding a shotgun and demanding money. But the gunman, 26-year-old Christopher Dam, messed with the wrong man -- a man armed with a shoe.

Students file lawsuit alleging voter intimidation

Chinese American students accuse town supervisor of voter intimidation and group defamation.



In upstate New York, a group of Chinese Americans college students have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against a local town supervisor, alleging voter intimidation after he challenged their right to vote.

Chinese-American students sue Deerpark supervisor

Ten Chinese American students at Fei Tian College are suing Deerpark Town Supervisor Gary Spears, accusing him of voter intimidation, group defamation and violation of their civil rights after he challenged their new voter registrations in an apparent effort to suppress voter turnout.

In August, Spears challenged thirty new voter registrations by students at Fei Tian, which is located on the grounds of a local religious enclave, Dragon Springs Buddhist Inc.

Asian customer referred to as "Chino" on restaurant receipt

According to the folks working at The Golden Pear Cafe.



This is brought to our attention by a reader named Warren, who became the latest recipient of the racial receipt during a recent visit with friends to The Golden Pear Cafe in East Hampton, New York.

Upon ordering his food -- a breakfast burrito and a smoothie -- and taking a seat, he was shocked and disheartened to learn that on his receipt, in the space designated for the customer's name, the cashier, Karina, had identified Warren simply as "CHINO." And yes, Warren is Asian, which Karina clearly made note of.

Planning a jailbreak? Don't forget to leave a racist note.

Two convicted murderers used power tools to bust out of a maximum security prison.


It's like a scene out of The Shawshank Redemption, except it's real life, with some totally random racism thrown in. In New York, two convicted murderers managed to escape from maximum security prison by using power tools to cut through the wall of their cell. The jailbreak has authorities scratching their heads over how they got away with it. I'm just wondering why they had to draw a racist Asian caricature on their farewell note.

With Power Tools and a Ruse, 2 Killers Flee New York Prison

48-year-old Richard Matt and 34-year-old David Sweat were discovered missing from the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York early on Saturday morning. The pair apparently used power tools to cut through a steel wall in their neighboring cells, then traveled through a series of tunnels that led to a manhole outside prison walls. As I write this, they're still on the loose, with a massive manhunt underway.

The escape like it was a pretty sophisticated plan that took several days to execute. But yo, take a look at the parting message that Matt and Sweat left behind, presumably for authorities:

Suspects arrested in home invasions targeting Asian families

Crew connected to robberies in New Jersey, Texas, Georgia, Michigan and New York



Last week Houston, four people were arrested and charged in connection with a recent series of New Jersey home invasion robberies that targeted Indian American families in Middlesex County.

4 charged in Middlesex County home invasions

Chaka Castro, 39, Juan Olaya, 34, Octavius Scott, 22, and Johnisha Williams, 19 -- all from Houston -- were charged in connection with five home invasions in which families were restrained, robbed at gunpoint and assaulted. They were arrested last week for robberies in Texas, and are believed to be involved in home invasions -- also targeting Asians -- in Georgia, Michigan and New York.

Sign up to help defend voting rights for Asian Americans

Volunteer as a poll monitor on Election Day

Do you want to help defend voting rights for Asian Americans?

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund is looking for volunteers to help monitor upcoming midterm elections for bilingual ballots under the federal Voting Rights Act and to document instances of anti-Asian voter disenfranchisement.

Volunteers Needed On Election Day, Nov. 4, 2014

They're looking for volunteers in to work 3-hour shifts on Election Day at polls in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC. There will be a 90-minute training session for all volunteers.

Here's schedule of AALDEF's poll monitoring trainings:

Students chant racist taunts at Indian basketball player

"We want Slurpees"



Oh hell no. Thumbs down to the group of asshole students at a recent New York high school basketball game who chanted "We want Slurpees" while a player of Indian descent shot free throws. That's racist.

High School Students Chant "We Want Slurpees" At Indian Basketball Player

During a basketball game between Brighton and Pittsford Sutherland high schools last Friday, a group of Pittsford fans started chanting at a Brighton descent of Indian student as he took a shot at the free-throw line. The taunt, of course, refers to the stereotype of Indians running 7-11 stores.

The incident was caught and video reported by the local news:

One dead, suspect at large in Long Island office shooting

Police manhunt underway for alleged shooter Sang Ho Kim

Dammit. In Long Island, authorities are searching for a suspect who opened fire this morning at an office building, killing one person and seriously injuring another: Man Shoots 2, Killing 1, in Long Island Office Building Near Mall.

64-year-old Sang Ho Kim, described as a "disgruntled business associate," walked into the office of the SavEnergy light fixture company in East Garden City and opened fire, shooting two people over an apparent business deal gone bad. One employee was killed, and the company's owner, John Choi, was critically injured.

As of Wednesday night, a massive manhunt involving local and state police, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had not located Mr. Kim. He is considered armed and dangerous.

2013 Kollaboration New York Auditions

Do you have what it takes to be the next Kollaboration Star? Kollaboration is constantly on the lookout for the nation's top performers, hidden talents and undiscovered superstars. If you're in New York, and you want to show the world what you've got, Kollaboration New York is currently accepting audition applications for performers of all mediums (song, dance, spoken word, etc). Here are some more details:

Shanghai Calling, starring Daniel Henney, opening in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York

Just in time for the Lunar New Year, the feature film Shanghai Calling, written and directed by Daniel Hsia and starring Daniel Henney, opens its limited theatrical run this weekend at the Presidio Theater in San Francisco, and next week in Los Angeles and New York. The film is a romantic comedy about modern day American immigrants in China. Henney stars as an ambitious New York attorney who finds himself in over his head when he is transferred to Shanghai on assignment. Here's the trailer:

this again: hooters receipt calls asian customer "chinx"

This again. It happened at Chick Fil-A and Papa John's. And now... Hooters.

Hooters is te latest restaurant chain getting negative attention for an employee who used a racial slur to refer to an Asian customer. Once again, it's right there on the receipt: A Hooters in Queens Is Sued for Racial Discrimination.

Police release sketch of Asian victim in Gilgo Beach murders

Suffolk County authorities investigating ten bodies found dumped along a remote beach highway.

Some follow up on this case in New York... In Suffolk County, authorities are investigating ten bodies that were found dumped along a stretch of a remote beach highway.

Remains Found On Beach Tied To 1996 Homicide.

DNA testing has determined that some of the victims are related, but the bodies could have actually been left by several killers. One of the victims was previously determined to be a young Asian man.

Last week, authorities released a sketch of two of unidentified victims.