You are reading

Queens Running Groups to Celebrate AAPI Heritage Month With 3-Mile Event Saturday

Woodside Sunnyside Runners at the Sunnyside Post Mile Run 2019

May 20, 2021 By Ryan Songalia

A number of Queens-based running groups will be coming together in Sunnyside Saturday to host a 3-mile run to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

The run will begins at noon at Bliss Plaza (46th Street/Queens Boulevard) and will end at Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights. The participants will run along 39th and 34th Avenues– both “Open Streets”—to avoid vehicular traffic. There will also be a walk that attendees can join.

The event is being put together by the Queens Running Collective, an organization that represents six different running groups. The collective aims to raise funds and awareness for different causes.

The collective was formed last year as a means to provide relief to those impacted by the pandemic.

However, it has since evolved to promote social justice and equality issues. The collective includes members from the Queens Distance Runners, We Run Hollis, Run Hustle Run, Team WEPA NYC, World’s Fair Run Crew and Woodside-Sunnyside Runners.

Jason Molina, an organizer and member of the Woodside-Sunnyside Runners, said the collective will stand together Saturday to denounce the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes. However, he said, the run also aims to be celebrate Asian heritage.

“We’re not necessarily coming together as a protest per se, we’re coming together to celebrate [AAPI Heritage Month],” said Molina.

The sign-up fee is $12, and registration comes with a pair of Queens Running Collective sunglasses.

The event proceeds will benefit a number of Jackson Heights business owners whose storefronts were damaged in a fire March 4. The blaze, which started at 37-54 74th St., tore through six stores. There were no injuries.

The funds will be added to what has been raised on a GoFundMe page created March 14, which has brought in $14,500. That page has raised $14,427 towards its $50,000 goal.

After the run, there will be a discussion on AAPI history and activism in the community.

Among the confirmed speakers are Julie Won, a candidate for city council in District 26, Paz Tanjuaquio, a co-founding director of the performance arts non-profit TOPAZ ARTS as well as Jose Miranda Jr.

Those interested in participating can sign up at qrcaapimonth.eventbrite.com.

email the author: [email protected]
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

CM Moya announces support for massive Metropolitan Park proposal near Citi Field

Council Member Francisco Moya announced his support for Metropolitan Park, a proposal put forward by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International that calls for the construction of a casino and entertainment complex on the parking lot just west of Citi Field.

In a lengthy statement released on Thursday afternoon, Moya said that when he was first approached about the project, his main consideration was ensuring that it would meet the needs of his constituents and provide a major boost to the local economy.

Long Island man charged in fatal Flushing hit-and-run that left 81-year-old man dead: NYPD

A Long Island truck driver was arrested on Tuesday and booked at the 109th Precinct in Flushing for a fatal hit-and-run collision that killed a Murray Hill senior who was riding an electric bike on Northern Boulevard three months ago.

Kyle Schreiber, 27, of Lincoln Boulevard in Hauppauge, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in the death of 81-year-old Peter Seo on the morning of Thursday, Dec. 28.

MTA seizes 19 ‘ghost’ cars registered to toll violators at Queens Midtown Tunnel on Monday

Two days before the MTA Board approved the controversial congestion pricing plan for Manhattan on Wednesday, the agency cracked down on persistent toll violators at the Queens Midtown Tunnel in Long Island City.

MTA Bridges and Tunnels seized 19 vehicles registered to persistent scofflaws on Monday and issued 81 summonses and confiscated two fraudulent incense plates. The MTA noted that the scofflaws accounted for approximately $483,000 in combined unpaid tolls and fees. One of the top persistent toll violators from the targeted enforcement owed nearly $76,000 in tolls and fees.