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Race Heats Up for City Council Seat In Immigrant-Heavy Bronx District

Plus: Behind the scenes of Documented's pandemic documentary, Chinatown businessman owns $1 million in unpaid wages, and more.

This summary was featured in Documented’s Early Arrival newsletter. You can subscribe to receive it in your inbox three times per week here.

The race for the 14th City Council District seat in the Bronx, has already drawn in over $1 million in campaign donations. Adolfo Abreu, Fernando Aquino, Haile Rivera, Pierina Sanchez, Socrates Solano and Yudelka Tapia are all vying for the seat and have plans tailored to immigrant New Yorkers. Abreu, for example, supports expanding voting rights to immigrant New Yorkers, regardless of legal status. “I would like to invest in a caring economy that ensures that all residents, including undocumented immigrants, have access to family, child, long-term, and disability care,” Abreu said. Sanchez meanwhile says she’d like to elevate the voices of immigrant communities. City Limits

In other local immigration news…

I Know What Pandemic Means: Behind The Scenes of Our First Film 

📍 Documented Film
Documented and Waterwill premiered the documentary, “Yo sé qué es pandemia” or “I know what pandemic means,” on Wednesday. It features compelling stories about the city’s Latin American communities and their experiences during the pandemic. Last summer, Documented received alarming messages from immigrant New Yorkers through our WhatsApp hotline. Documented wanted to highlight these individual stories from our readers while also telling a bigger story of the city through a pandemic. Along with the premiere, actress and advocate Morena Baccarin sat down with filmmaker Frisly Soberanis, for a question and answer session about the movie. If you would like to see the recording of the session, please join our Documented Community membership program here. Read more behind the scenes at Documented. Watch and read more about the documentary on its website here.

Chinatown Businessman Who Confronted de Blasio Owes Nearly $1 Million in Unpaid Wages

📍 Documented Original
Patrick Mock went viral last summer when he confronted New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for neglecting Chinatown during the pandemic. After a video of the incident spread widely, Mock became the face of mutual aid efforts to save the neighborhood and was praised by local politicians and Hollywood A-listers. But a group of busboys, waiters and service staff who worked under Mock at the now-closed Joy Luck Palace say Mock’s relationship with Chinatown isn’t what it seems. They’re accusing him and three business partners of owing close to $1 million in back pay, which he was told to pay when workers filed and won a lawsuit almost two years ago. Workers at Joy Luck Palace were only paid $5 an hour and were only able to live off their tips due to the restaurant’s popularity. Read more at Documented.

Sanctuary Family Readjusts to Life Outside of Church

Clive and Oneita Thompson came to the U.S. from Jamaica more than 20 years ago when Oneita’s brother was killed and their farm was burned. They lived in Cedarville, New Jersey, for 14 years and started a family, but their requests for asylum were never granted. So during former President Donald Trump’s administration, they took sanctuary in a church in Philadelphia. While in sanctuary, the couple learned how they could get green cards. They’ve since left sanctuary, and are learning to readjust to normal life. NPR 

The COVID-19 Vaccine Guide for Immigrants in New York

📍 Documented Guide Update
To read the latest update in our guide to the COVID-19 vaccine, including expanded eligibility that includes tourists visiting the city, click here.  

What News is Most Important to New York’s Caribbean Communities?

📍 Documented Survey
Documented is looking to improve coverage of issues that are important to the Caribbean community. If you’d like to give us your input to help us achieve that goal, please answer a set of questions here.

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