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Past Events

Our past events have been fantastic. We are pleased to have amazing Co-Facilitators and Guests, and to discuss topics integral to our great City.  

Photo by Dom Fou on Unsplash.

Vaccinations, Jhonson & Jhonson and CDC new Guidelines Part

Vaccinations, Johnson & Johnson and CDC new Guidelines Part 3

Co-Facilitator: 

Anthony Feliciano is the Director of the Commission on the Public Health System (CPHS). The CPHS is a citywide, community-based membership health advocacy organization. Their missions is to fight for equal access to quality health care for everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, language spoken, diagnosis, or the ability to pay. CPHS is committed to ensuring that the voices of medically underserved communities are heard.

Guests: 

Dr. Miao Jenny Hua was an internal medicine doctor at Mount Sinai Hospital during the height of COVID-19 in Spring 2020. She also has a PhD in anthropology from the University of Chicago. She is an active member of the New York Doctors Coalition and the Covid-19 Working Group and a board member of Physicians for a National Health Program-New York Metro.

Dr. Lee Isaacsohn MD, MS completed residency training in Family Medicine at Albert Einstein / Montefiore Medical Center and has an MS in Nutrition from Columbia University. He serves as Asst. Medical Director for Breaking Ground, a social services agency. During the COVID-19 pandemic he has helped both agencies craft their responses while continuing to serve his patients. He is an active member of the New York Doctors Coalition.

End AAPI Hate

Co-Facilitator: 

Thomas Shanahan is an attorney dedicated to protecting clients’ rights, focusing on employment law, matrimonial law, civil rights and public policy. He is an LGBTQ advocate, former Commissioner of Human Rights and author of Spiritual Adrenaline: A Lifestyle Plan to Nourish and Strengthen Your Recovery. Tom contributes his talents and time to handling pro bono and public service cases. He is a widely recognized figure in New York public policy law and has appeared on many news and entertainment programsAnthony Feliciano is the Director of the Commission on the Public Health System (CPHS). The CPHS is a citywide, community-based membership health advocacy organization. Their missions is to fight for equal access to quality health care for everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, language spoken, diagnosis, or the ability to pay. CPHS is committed to ensuring that the voices of medically underserved communities are heard.

Guests: 

Senator Brad Hoylman is the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He champions a wide range of issues, such as housing, transportation, public education, LGBTQ rights, environment and seniors. He has passed over sixty bills in the Senate, including the Child Victims Act; the TRUST Act, which permitted Congress to review the state taxes of elected officials like Donald Trump; GENDA, which extended human rights protections to transgender New Yorkers. He is one of two openly gay NYS senator and is running for Manhattan Borough President. 

Nick E. Smith is First Deputy Public Advocate for the City of New York. In this role, Smith is responsible for representing the Public Advocate and leading the policy, legislative, communications and community engagement divisions of the office. Previously, Nick served as a Legislative Representative in the de Blasio Administration. In this role, he negotiated more than 200 pieces of public safety and housing legislation, and advised city agency heads. He also served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Williams during his council tenure, and as Director of Legislation and Communications for New York State Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan). Finally, Nick was coordinator of the national, non-partisan Education from the Inside Out Coalition, aimed at restoring in-prison college education funding.

Past Community Forums

Self-Defense Techniques

Esther Yang is a second-degree black belt and is a yoga and meditation instructor. She shared self-defense techniques to protect oneself. She is also a powerhouse Health and Wellness Educator and Advocate, Community Activist/Organizer, Speaker, Animal, LGBTQ, and Human Rights Advocate, Healthy and Easy Recipe Developer and founder of Simple Healthy Living, Super happy Healthy Kids and AAPI for Change. She was also awarded New Yorker of the week by NY1 for her work with children, and is the creator of bully-free zones in public schools.

Comedy Is The Best Medicine: Celebrating April Fool’s Day

Guests: 

Jean Kim is a standup comedian. She has been performing for five years throughout NYC at the Broadway Comedy Club, Comic Strip Live Club on Upper Eastside where she is a booker for the weekly Gladys Comedy Party Show. She has received residencies and won numerous comedy contests. Ms. Kim was born in Korea and grew up in Ohio. She moved to NYC 20 years ago after graduating from The Ohio State University in broadcast journalism and political science. Her comedy includes her unique perspective as an immigrant and the raw, witty observations of a New Yorker.

Gladys Simon is a comedian and has been mentoring developing comics in New York City for more than 30 years. Currently she runs the Gladys Comedy Party Show on Thursdays at the legendary Comic Strip Live Comedy Club. She has mentored stars like Jim Gaffigan, Jeff Ross, Lynne Koplitz and Darrell Hammond. Ms. Simon was born in the Bronx to a singer actress mother who performed in Jewish Theater and is now a longtime Upper Eastsider. She got started in show business as a TV soap writer and managing top name rock and music groups.

The Importance & Side Effects of Covid Vaccine

Co-Facilitator: 

Anthony Feliciano is the Director of the Commission on the Public Health System (CPHS). The CPHS is a citywide, community-based membership health advocacy organization. Their missions is to fight for equal access to quality health care for everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, language spoken, diagnosis, or the ability to pay. CPHS is committed to ensuring that the voices of medically underserved communities are heard.

Guests: 

Anne Bove, MS, RN-BC, CCRN, ANP is a:  

  • CUNY BMCC Nursing Assistant Professor
  • CPHS (Commission on the Public Health System) Board of Directors Member
  • NYSNA (New York State Nurses Association) Board of Directors Member
  • Retired Bellevue Hospital Center Nursing Clinical Instructor 

Lee Isaacsohn MD, MS completed residency training in Family Medicine at Albert Einstein / Montefiore Medical Center and has an MS in Nutrition from Columbia University. He serves as Asst. Medical Director for Breaking Ground, a social services agency. During the COVID-19 pandemic he has helped both agencies craft their responses while continuing to serve his patients. He is an active member of the New York Doctors Coalition.  

Miao Jenny Hua was an internal medicine doctor at Mount Sinai Hospital during the height of COVID-19 in Spring 2020. She also has a PhD in anthropology from the University of Chicago. She is an active member of the New York Doctors Coalition and the Covid-19 Working Group and a board member of Physicians for a National Health Program-New York Metro.

Stop Anti-Asian Violence

Co-Facilitator: 

William Allen is the District Leader for 70th AD and a Former National Crisis Director of the National Action Network. William began his leadership career as a teenager, as one of the youngest people appointed to a local community board in NYC, and later, as the youngest trustee of a community school district in NYS. He is a visionary leader, who’s smart-fighting spirit and block-by-block approach, have benefitted urban communities across the nation helping to access affordable housing, business opportunities, employment, quality education, and respect by public servants.

Guests: 

Andrew Yang commented on the dramatic rise in anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S., calling it “a devastating time in the Asian-American community. I am humbled to join with community leaders from across the City to come together, lock arms, and urge the City to expand and accelerate its efforts into an all-hands-on-deck approach to condemn hate and racism.” Andrew Yang is a NYC Mayoral Candidate.

Gale A. Brewer is the 27th Borough President of Manhattan. Since taking office in 2014, she has successfully passed new numerous legislation to help NYC residents. In 2018, Brewer served as Chair of the Large Cities Council of the National League of Cities, and was named a member of their 2019 Human Development federal advocacy committee. Brewer previously served on the City Council for 12 years. She also served as Chief of Staff to Council Member Ruth Messinger, NYC Deputy Public Advocate, Director of the city’s Federal Office, and Executive Director of the Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women. 

PPP & SBA Loans

Co-Facilitator: 

David Trimner is the managing partner of Trimner Beckham PLLC. He has spent over 20 years providing tax advice to public charities, private foundations, trade associations, healthcare organizations, and higher education institutions. He focuses on tax compliance, unrelated business income, intermediate sanctions, obtaining and maintaining exempt status, executive compensation & benefits disclosures, IRS examinations, and state solicitation requirements.

www.trimnerbeckham.com

Guest: 

Gary Lee is Commercial Credit Manager of Abacus Federal Savings Bank. He is assigned to lead a team to join the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan program to help businesses keep their workforce employed during the Coronavirus crisis. The Bank lent 129 PPP loans for approximately $4 million. our Bank helped hundreds of employees at small businesses throughout our community continue to receive income and keep their jobs during this tough time. Gary also serves in a local church, Flushing Union Bible Church, as a Sunday School principal. 

www.abacusbank.com

Addiction and Recovery

Co-Facilitator: 

Tom Shanahan confronted his addiction issues a decade ago and has been sober since May 11, 2011. He worked a 12-step program but could not stay sober until integrating exercise and nutrition. Originally a lawyer, he switched careers and became certified in personal training and sports nutrition, and learned how caffeine, sugar and an unhealthy lifestyle affected his ability to avoid relapse and find happiness in sobriety. Shanahan published the best-seller “Spiritual Adrenaline: A Lifestyle Plan to Strengthen & Nourish Your Recovery” in January 2019. 

Guest: 

Rashida Sykes, MSW, is a Brooklyn mother of 3 boys and a graduate from Silberman School of Social Work. She has over 10 years of experience working in non-profits and with communities, including substance abuse treatment, program development and grassroots organizing. She is driven to empower and assist those overcoming trauma, addiction, poverty and lack of access to resources. She also speaks about the benefits of fitness/movement for mental health, and is the Program Manager for The Phoenix, a national non-profit, that utilizes fitness to create a recovery community.

Black History Month

Co-Facilitator: 

Dr. Hazel Dukes is President of the NAACP NYS, NAACP National Board of Directors, NAACP Executive Committee and various NAACP board sub-committees. A dynamic leader of great strength and courage, she is dedicated to human rights and equality, and exemplifies linking business, government and social causes. She is known for her unselfish record of improving the quality of life in NYS. Dr. Dukes is also President of the Hazel N. Dukes & Associates Consultant Firm, specializing in the areas of public policy, health and diversity. 

Guests: 

Mr. & Mrs. Bell are the parents of Sean Bell, who was 23, unarmed and killed on his wedding day by 50 bullets by NYC Police Officers in 2006. They fought and won the implementation of Interim Order 52, requiring officers to immediately take a sobriety test after firing their guns. They have since effected other civil rights procedures and actions. They received the 2014 Congressional Achievement Award from Congressman Gregory Meeks. Mrs. Bell wrote “Just 23”, an account of the loss of her child. 

Mrs. Gwendolyn Carr is a nationwide speaker, advocate and community leader against racism and injustice. Her son, Eric Garner, was suffocated by a white policeman despite his repeated pleas of “I can’t breathe”. Carr travels the country serving as a beacon against racial injustice and police brutality. She is also the founder of the non-profit, E.R.I.C. – Eliminating, Racism and Inequality Collectively, which mentors youth about their rights and tactics during police interactions and provides a safe space for victims and families to share and find legal support

Lunar New Year: Year of the Ox

Co-Facilitator: 

Doris Ling-Cohan (凌德麗) is a trailblazer. 

She is the:  First woman of Asian descent appointed to a NYS appellate panel;

First woman of Asian descent elected to NYS Supreme Court; 

First elected official of Asian descent in Manhattan’s Chinatown district (Civil Court Judge in 1995); and 

First woman of Asian descent on the FINRA National Adjudicatory Council, which she currently serves on.

She was vacationing and stranded in Vietnam because of the pandemic.  

Guests: 

Rev. Dr. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki (TK) is an ordained Buddhist priest in the 750-year-old Jodoshinshu tradition of Japanese Buddhism; Pres. and Founder of the Heiwa Peace and Reconciliation Foundation of NY; Executive Officer and Former Pres. of the Buddhist Council of NY, Hiroshima Peace Ambassador; Nagasaki Peace Correspondent; Honorary Board Member of the interfaith Center of NY; and NYC Police Department Clergy Liaison. Learn more at www.heiwafoundation.org. 

 

Mei Chan is the Proprietor and Chef at Asia Roma, an Asian-Italian restaurant in the heart of Chinatown. She is an Advocate, Organizer, and Philanthropist in the Chinatown community. Asia Roma is a longtime secret destination of famous Asian actors such as Tzi Ma (Disney movie Mulan and Net Flix Wu Assassin.) Despite the uncertainty and struggle during this Pandemic, Asia Roma has continued to cook and donate meals to frontline workers and seniors. 

You can watch the recorded event on YouTube.

Roosevelt Island: Fun Facts & History

Co-Facilitator: 

Joyce Short moved to Roosevelt Island three months before the tram opened. She’s been a community activist ever since and served-on or founded several committees and boards. She was the Secretary, Elections Chair, and Government Relations Chair of RIRA. She was a founding member of the RI Community Coalition which represented the community’s interests in the ULURP process with Cornell-Tech. She has served as the President of the Roosevelt Landings Residents Association and founded the RI Tennis Association where she directed the community’s free NY Jr. Tennis and Learning program for 30+ years.  

Guests: 

Nikki Leopold is a Roosevelt Island resident and advocates for Roosevelt Island and Education, and has a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education. She has 20 years of experience in non-profit management, program development fundraising and grant writing. She is a leader and a problem-solver with a record of mentoring and supporting staff and volunteers and creating partnerships between community organizations. 

Naomi Imbrogno is a longtime Roosevelt Island resident, parent, educator and community organizer. She is also a lifelong poet. She knows Roosevelt Island like the back of her hand, and can show visitors its most beautiful parts, and share all its secrets.

Tenants’ Rights and What to Do about Vacant Commercial Spaces

Co-Facilitator: 

Michael McKee is a long-time tenant rights leader, activist and organizer. He works closely with elected officials to ensure that tenants are represented and advocates for their rights so the voiceless, the poor, and the underrepresented will be heard and protected.  

Guests: 

Assembly Member Harvey Epstein is an experienced leader and advocate for the progressive movement, He has introduced, voted for and supported legislation that promotes environmental sustainability, supports public education, voting reforms as well as criminal justice reform, and legislation like the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 that protects thousands of tenants

and preserves affordable housing in New York.

Senator Brad Hoylman is the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He champions a wide range of issues, such as housing, transportation, public education, LGBTQ rights, environment and seniors. He has passed over sixty bills in the Senate, including the Child Victims Act; the TRUST Act, which permitted Congress to review the state taxes of elected

officials like Donald Trump; GENDA, which extended human rights protections to transgender New Yorkers. He is one of two openly gay NYS senator and is running for Manhattan Borough President.

Women Empowerment: The Truth about Consent When Yes Means No

Co-Facilitator:
Joyce Short is a sexual assault survivor and the author of several books on sexual assault, including her most recent, “Your Consent – The Key to Conquering Sexual Assault.” 

Guests:

Marcia Pappas is the former NYS president of the National Organization for Women. She was called “the most visible activist in NY State”.

The Clinical and Social Aspects of the Covid-19 Vaccination

Co-Facilitator:
Anthony Feliciano is the Director of the Commission on the Public Health System

Guests:

Miao Jenny Hua, MD, PhD, was an internal medicine doctor at the Mount Sinai Hospital during the height of COVID-19 in Spring 2020.
Lee Isaacsohn MD, MS helped agencies craft responses during the COVID-19 pandemic, while continuing to serve his patients. 

Part II will be held on March 25, 2021.

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