Filipinos in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan area ...

constitute one of the fastest growing ethnicities in the United States, and one of the largest and most prominent Filipino diasporas in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...

. By 2014 Census estimates, the New York City-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area was home to 262,375 Filipino Americans, 221,612 (84.5%) of them uniracial Filipinos.

History

New York City has a shorter settlement history compared to historically more common locations for Filipinos to immigrate to, such as the West Coast.

Early demographics

While larger populations Filipinos immigrated to New York City after 1965, many Filipinos began arriving in New York in the early 1900s. Many came to study as ''

pensionados The Pensionado Act is Act Number 854 of the Philippine Commission, which passed on 26 August 1903. Passed by the United States Congress, it established a scholarship program for Filipinos to attend school in the United States. The program has r ...

'' (or sponsored students) in universities like

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. Like other immigrants at the time, these Filipinos entered through

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mil ...

;

Manuel Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his d ...

and

Carlos Romulo Carlos Peña Romulo Sr. (January 14, 1898 – December 15, 1985) was a Filipino diplomat, statesman, soldier, journalist and author. He was a reporter at the age of 16, a newspaper editor by 20, and a publisher at 32. He was a co-founder of ...

are among the small group of Filipinos who arrived in this way. In 1911, some Filipinos worked at the Dreamland Amusement Park in Coney Island, where they simulated what "savage" life was like in the Philippines. Most other Filipinos in New York at this time were seamen who docked at the Brooklyn Navy Yards. A Filipino restaurant called Manila Restaurant opened in the late 1920s and was located at 47 Sand Street in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. In 1927, one of the first Filipino

civic organizations Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Filipino American Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New ...

s in New York City. In 1970, there were 14,279 Filipinos in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

, 52.4% of whom were college graduates. Filipinos in the New York City metropolitan area also did not enjoy the early advantage of their counterparts on the West Coast of the United States in terms of perceived geographic proximity to the Philippines by marine and air routes. Also in the 1990s,

Philippine Airlines Philippine Airlines (PAL), a trade name of PAL Holdings, Inc. (Philippine Stock Exchange, PSEPAL (Philippine Air Lines until 1970), is the flag carrier airline of the Philippines. Headquartered at the Philippine National Bank, PNB Financial Cen ...

, which had provided service to Newark Liberty International Airport, discontinued this service due to financial difficulties. However, the determined Filipino American communities of the New York City metropolitan region ultimately overcame these obstacles in conjunction with the sheer number of opportunities provided by the region for Filipinos to work and thrive as a highly achieving, ambitious, and rapidly growing presence, first within the New York City region's Asian American milieu and eventually amidst its mainstream population. Filipino Americans started working in the traditional

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

and healthcare fields in the region's numerous hospitals and clinics, before branching out to other professional fields. In the East Village and the Lower East Side,

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, there was significant Filipino migration in the late 1980s due to mass recruitment of Filipino

medical professional A health professional, healthcare professional, or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a nurse, physician (suc ...

s to area hospitals, notably

New York Eye and Ear Infirmary New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE) is located at East 14th Street and Second Avenue in lower Manhattan, New York City. Founded on August 14, 1820, NYEE is America's first specialty hospital and one of the most prominent in th ...

Beth Israel Medical Center Mount Sinai Beth Israel is a 799-bed teaching hospital in Manhattan. It is part of the Mount Sinai Health System, a nonprofit health system formed in September 2013 by the merger of Continuum Health Partners and Mount Sinai Medical Center, an ...

, and the former

Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers of New York d/b/a as Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers (Saint Vincent's, or SVCMC) was a healthcare system, anchored by its flagship hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan, locally referred to a ...

. Migration was spurred by the hospitals' offer of subsidized housing to employees, in the midst of ongoing rent strikes in the neighborhood. The burgeoning Little Manila centered on 1st Avenue and 14th Street, around which there were, at the peak, a number of grocery and video-rental stores and Filipino restaurants within a few blocks of one another. Filipino American community relations were strengthened by local

Roman Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

es in the East Village and Gramercy Park areas. As rents increased, and properties were taken over by New York University, the number of Filipinos and Filipino businesses in the East Village's Little Manila waned. Elvie's Turo-Turo, the longest standing Filipino business in the area, closed in late 2009 after almost 20 years of operation. New Filipino businesses continue to sprout up.

Modern demographics

New York Metropolitan Area Counties 2013

In the 1970s and '80s, Filipinos in the New Jersey and New York metropolitan region had a higher socioeconomic status than Filipinos elsewhere, as more than half of Filipino immigrants to the metropolitan area were healthcare professionals or other highly trained professionals, in contrast to established working-class Filipino American populations elsewhere. In 1990, there were 43,229 Filipinos in New York City, with the number increasing to around 50,000 in 2000. The

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

is home to the largest concentration of Filipinos within New York City, with about 38,000 Filipinos per the 2010 Census. In 2011, New York City was home to an estimated 82,313 Filipinos, representing a 7.7% increase from the estimated 77,191 in 2008, with 56%, or about 46,000, living in Queens. The Filipino

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways o ...

in New York City was $81,929 in 2013, and 68% held a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

or higher. In 2008, the New York metropolitan area was home to 215,000 Filipinos. By the 2010 Census, within the

New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan are ...

, there were 217,349 Filipino Americans, with an additional 15,631 in the greater New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA. As of 2011, over 150,000 Filipino-born immigrants resided in the New York City metropolitan region. In 2013, 4,098 Filipinos legally immigrated to the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA core based statistical area; in 2012, this number was 4,879; 4,177 in 2011; 4,047 in 2010, 4,400 in 2009, and 5,985 in 2005. These numerical values do not include the remainder of the New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area. Philippine Airlines has resumed service to the New York City region since March 2015, with direct, one-seat service to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, this time utilizing

JFK International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New ...

as its gateway. In April 2018, Philippine Airlines launched

non-stop flight A non-stop flight is a flight by an aircraft with no intermediate stops. History During the early age of aviation industry when aircraft range was limited, most flights were served in the form of milk run, aka there were many stops along ...

service between JFK international Airport and Manila, and has operated this important flight connection between Manila and New York continuously since then, even through the worldwide

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

List of Little Manilas

Little Manila A Little Manila ( fil, Munting Maynila or ), also known as a Manilatown ( fil, Bayang Maynila) or Filipinotown ( fil, Bayang Pilipino), is a community with a large Filipino immigrant and descendant population. Little Manilas are enclaves of Overs ...

s have emerged in the New York City metropolitan area, located in

Woodside, Queens Woodside is a residential and commercial neighborhood in the western portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bordered on the south by Maspeth, on the north by Astoria, on the west by Sunnyside, and on the east by Elmhurst, ...

; Jersey City, New Jersey; and

Bergenfield, New Jersey Bergenfield is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 28,321, an increase of 1,557 from the 2010 censuscount of 26,764,

, known as Filipinotown, is commonly known for its concentration of Filipinos. Filipino cafés and restaurants dominate the area, as well as several

freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tran ...

delivery and remittance centers scattered throughout the neighborhood. Other Filipino-owned businesses including professional services (medical, dental,

optical Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultravio ...

), driving schools, beauty salons, immigration services, and Filipino video rental establishments are present in the community. PhilAmGrocryStoreWoodsideQeensNY

Woodside has many types of transportation used on a daily basis. The

IRT Flushing Line The IRT Flushing Line is a rapid transit route of the New York City Subway system, named for its eastern terminal in Flushing, Queens. It is operated as part of the A Division. The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), a private operator, ...

(), known colloquially as the ''

Orient Express The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...

'', the 69th Street station serves as the gateway to Queens' largest Little Manila, along with other public transportation such as the Long Island Railroad and buses. The coverage of Little Manila is along

Roosevelt Avenue Roosevelt Avenue and Greenpoint Avenue are main thoroughfares in the New York City boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. Roosevelt Avenue begins at 48th Street and Queens Boulevard in the neighborhood of Sunnyside. West of Queens Boulevard, the ro ...

, between 58th and 74th Streets. Elsewhere in Queens, Filipinos are also concentrated in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst. There are also smaller Filipino communities in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, Queens and parts of

. The Benigno Aquino Triangle is located on

Hillside Avenue Hillside may refer to the side of a hill. Places Australia * Hillside mine, a proposed mine on the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia * Hillside, New South Wales *Hillside, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne Canada * Hillside, Nova Scotia United Ki ...

in Hollis, Queens to commemorate the slain Filipino political leader and to recognize the large Filipino American population in the area. In February 2008, the Bayanihan Filipino Community Center opened its doors in Woodside, a project spearheaded by the Philippine Forum. The Philippine Forum also hosts the annual Bayanihan Cultural Festival at the Hart Playground in September to commemorate Filipino American History Month. On June 12th, 2022, a sign-unveiling ceremony and celebration were held at the intersection of 70th Street and Roosevelt Avenue to commemorate the Filipino community’s growing presence and contributions in Queens. Concomitantly, there is also a Roosevelt Avenue in

Quezon City, Philippines Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was fou ...

. The corner in Queens was co-named "Little Manila Avenue”.

Manhattan

The Philippine Consulate of New York has a multipurpose role – aside from its governmental duties and functions, it also caters to many events of the Filipino American community and even has a school called ''Paaralan sa Konsulado'' (School at the consulate), which teaches newer-generation Filipino Americans about their culture and language. The consulate is known as the

Philippine Center The Philippine Center is an agency of the Philippine Government in New York City and San Francisco in the United States. The New York City structure houses the Philippine Mission to the United Nations, the Philippine Consulate General, and the o ...

. The Philippine Center's large edifice is situated on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and is open to the public on business days and closed on Philippine and American holidays. The building itself is considered as the largest foreign consulate on the strip of the avenue. The

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...

designated a chapel named after the first Filipino Saint Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila for the Filipino Apostolate. Officially designated as the "Church of Filipinos," the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz in Lower Manhattan is only the third in the world and the first in the United States dedicated as such.

Eastern Long Island

Long Island, with its vibrant and burgeoning Asian American populations including Chinese Americans, Indian Americans,

Korean American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian American ...

s, and

Vietnamese American Vietnamese Americans ( vi, Người Mỹ gốc Việt, lit=Viet-origin American people) are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They make up about half of all overseas Vietnamese and are the fourth-largest Asian American ethnic group after Chinese ...

s, now adds the relatively recent growth of Filipino Americans as well, following the overall eastward expansion from Queens into Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Northern and Central New Jersey

Northern and Central

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

are home to significant overseas Filipino populations, numbering at more than 100,000 statewide, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. While Filipinos can be found across the state, the commercial districts catering to the Filipino community are found mostly in the state's urban areas. State and local governments in the Garden State have significant numbers of employees of Filipino background, and they play a vital role in the state's affairs, issues, commerce, and health care. Filipino enclaves exist in Jersey City, Bergenfield, Paterson,

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,7 ...

, Union City,

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

, and most recently, Edison. The

Meadowlands Exposition Center The Plaza at Harmon Meadow is a shopping complex in the Meadowlands of Secaucus, New Jersey, approximately six miles from New York City. It was developed by Hartz Mountain Industries, whose corporate offices are located in the Plaza. The Plaz ...

Secaucus Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,Jollibee Jollibee is a Filipino chain of fast food restaurants owned by Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC). As of December 2021, JFC had a total of about 1,500 Jollibee outlets worldwide, with restaurants in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, East Asia ...

, the restaurant conglomerate headquartered in Ortigas Center,

Pasig Pasig, officially the City of Pasig ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people. It is located along t ...

, in

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the seat of government and one of three defined metropolitan areas in ...

, had five branch locations in Northern and Central Jersey, including three in Jersey City alone. Bergen County,

Hudson County Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...

, Middlesex County, and Passaic County have developed in Northern and Central New Jersey as popular destinations for Filipino Americans. Within Bergen County, Bergenfield, along with

Paramus Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...

, Hackensack, New Milford, Dumont, Fair Lawn, and

Teaneck Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) f ...

, have developed growing Filipino populations. Taken as a whole, these municipalities are home to a significant proportion of Bergen County's Philippine population.Profile of General Demographic Characteristics for Bergenfield borough, New Jersey: 2000
,

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

. Retrieved November 25, 2014. A census-estimated 20,859 Filipino Americans resided in Bergen County as of 2013, embodying an increase from the 19,155 counted in 2010. The Philippine-American Community of Bergen County (PACBC) organization is based in Paramus, while other Filipino organizations are based in Fair Lawn and Bergenfield. Bergen County's vibrant and culturally active Filipino community repatriated significant financial assistance to victims of

Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the ...

, which ravaged the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in November 2013. In Hudson County, Jersey City is home to the largest Filipino population in New Jersey, with over 16,000 Filipinos in 2010.

Holy Name Medical Center Holy Name Medical Center is a fully accredited, not-for-profit healthcare facility based in Teaneck, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, with off-site locations throughout Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic counties. In response to the need for b ...

, Bergen County, launched its ''Filipino Medical Program'' in December 2015.

Jersey City: Five Corners, Newark Avenue, and Manila Avenue

Jersey City is home to a high-profile Little Manila. Seven percent (7%) of Jersey City's population is Filipino. The Five Corners district has a thriving Filipino community, which is one of the largest Asian-American subgroups in the city. Newark Avenue's strip of Filipino culture and commerce is significantly large and growing. A variety of Filipino restaurants, shippers and freighters, doctors' officers, bakeries, stores, and even an office of

The Filipino Channel The Filipino Channel, commonly known as TFC, is a 24-hour global subscription television network based in Daly City, California with studios in Redwood City, California and offices in Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, UAE, Ethi ...

made Newark Avenue their home. The first Filipino owned grocery store on the East Coast, Phil-Am Food, originated in Jersey City since 1973; while that establishment's name changed to FilStop, the moniker ''Phil-Am'' has since expanded to businesses in Middlesex County, including Woodbridge and East Brunswick. An array of Filipino-owned businesses can also be found in Jersey City's West Side section, where many of its residents are of Filipino descent. In 2006, a Red Ribbon pastry shop opened its first branch on the East Coast in the Garden State. Manila Avenue in

Downtown Jersey City Downtown is an area of Jersey City, New Jersey, which includes the Historic Downtown and the Waterfront. Historic Downtown Historic Downtown was an area of mostly low-rise buildings to the west of the waterfront, but by the 2000s a number of hi ...

was named for the Philippine city because of the many Filipinos who had built their homes on this street during the 1970s. A memorial, dedicated to the Filipino American veterans of the Vietnam War, was built in a small square on Manila Avenue. A park and statue dedicated to

Jose P. Rizal Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galil ...

, the national hero of the Philippines, exists in downtown Jersey City. Jersey City is the host of the annual Philippine-American Friendship Day Parade, an event that occurs yearly in June, on its last Sunday. The City Hall of Jersey City raises the Philippine flag in correlation to this event and as a tribute to the contributions of the Filipino community. The Santakrusan Procession along Manila Avenue has taken place since 1977. In 2011, Rolando Lavarro, Jr., became the first Filipino American to win an elective position in Jersey City as city council member, and in 2013, Lavarro became the first Filipino American council president of Jersey City. Several Filipinos have been appointed to various Jersey City municipal posts and commissions.

Bergenfield

Bergenfield is informally known as the Little Manila of Bergen County with a significant concentration of Filipino residents and businesses. Between 2000 and 2010, the Filipino-American population of Bergenfield grew from 11.7 percent, or 3,081 residents, to 17.1 percent, or 4,569, and increasing further to 5,062 (18.4%) by 2016. In 2014, Filipino-born attorney Arvin Amatorio was elected a

councilman; while in the late 1990s, Bergenfield had become the first municipality on the East Coast of the United States to elect a Filipino mayor, Robert C. Rivas. On the other side of Bergen County, the Filipino population of Fair Lawn was estimated to have more than doubled between 2010 and 2017. Also in Bergen County, Jonathan Wong was elected city councilman in Mahwah in November 2014. The annual Filipino American Festival is held in Bergenfield.

Edison

Edison, and surrounding Middlesex County, New Jersey, have emerged as a growing hub for Filipinos since 1990. A significant number of Filipinos in Middlesex County work in the burgeoning healthcare and other life-science disciplines at

Central Jersey Central Jersey is the central region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation of Central New Jersey is a distinct administrative toponym. Geographic area and descriptions While the State of New Jersey is often divided into North and ...

's numerous medical and pharmaceutical institutions.

Culture

Philippine Independence Day Parade

The annual

Philippine Independence Day Parade The Philippine Independence Day Parade, in New York City, the world's largest outside the Philippines, takes place annually in the United States along Madison Avenue in the Manhattan borough. The parade is held on the first Sunday in June. Its ma ...

in a New York City, the world’s largest outside the Philippines, is traditionally held on the first Sunday of June on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. The parade is said to be one of the largest parades of any kind in the city and the largest Philippine celebration in the United States. This celebration is a combination of a parade and a street fair. Madison Avenue is replete on this day with Filipino culture, colors, and people and is attended by many significant political figures, entertainers, civic groups, etc. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Senator

Charles Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...

are devout attendees of this annual parade. A smaller annual Philippine Independence Day parade is held in early June in Passaic, New Jersey.

Philippine-American Friendship Day Parade

The annual Philippine-American Friendship Day Parade is held in Jersey City every fourth Sunday of June.

Arts, entertainment, and media

In 2013, so many Filipino films screened across New York City as a part of the

New York Asian Film Festival The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is a critically acclaimed film festival held in New York City, dedicated to the display of Asian Film Culture. The New York Asian Film Festival generally features contemporary premieres and classic titles ...

that, according to the ''

Philippine Inquirer The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' (''PDI''), or simply the ''Inquirer'', is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. Founded in 1985, it is often regarded as the Philippines' newspaper of record. The newspaper is the most awarded br ...

'', "it could very well have been called the

New York Filipino Film Festival The New York Filipino Film Festival is a week-long event that features an array of Filipino-oriented and Filipino-made movies in New York City's ImaginAsian Theatre. This event correlates with the celebration of Philippine Independence in June. I ...

". In 2014,

Here Lies Love ''Here Lies Love'' is a concept album and rock musical made in collaboration between David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos along with the woman who raised her—Estrella Cumpas� ...

, a bio-musical play about the personal and political dynamics between former Philippine first couple

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

and

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the dictato ...

, opened off-Broadway. The majority of the cast members were of Filipino descent, and the play was set in a

discotheque A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gene ...

Filipino cafés and cuisine

The growth in the New York City metropolitan region's Filipino populace has been accompanied by growth in the number of Filipino cafés serving Filipino coffee, especially of the

leche flan Leche (Spanish: "milk") may refer to: * Leche (surname) * ''Leche'' (Fobia album), 1993 * ''Leche'' (Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas album), 1999 * ''Leche'', a 2010 album by Gregory and the Hawk * Leche frita, a Spanish sweet See also * ...

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

, and ube varieties; and Filipino restaurants, with the accessibility of Filipino-

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

specialties such as

siopao ''Siopao'' (), is a Philippine steamed bun with various fillings. It is the indigenized version of the Fujianese ''baozi'', introduced to the Philippines by Hokkien immigrants during the Spanish colonial period. It is a popular snack in the Phi ...

joining traditional

Philippine cuisine Filipino cuisine ( fil, lutong Pilipino/pagkaing Pilipino) is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose Fi ...

, including inihaw na liempo and kare kare, snacks such as

pandesal Pandesal ( es, pan de sal, salt bread, lit. "salt bread") is a staple bread roll in the Philippines commonly eaten for breakfast. It is made of flour, yeast, sugar, oil, and salt. Description ''Pandesal'' is a popular yeast-raised bread in the ...

, and desserts including ensaïmada, purple ube cakes,

halo-halo Halo-halo, correctly spelled ''haluhalo'', Tagalog for "mixed" (the more common spelling instead literally equating to "mix-mix") is a popular cold dessert in the Philippines made up of crushed ice, evaporated milk or coconut milk, and vari ...

, and mango cake rolls. ''Turo Turo''-style

buffet A buffet can be either a sideboard (a flat-topped piece of furniture with cupboards and drawers, used for storing crockery, glasses, and table linen) or a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners serve ...

dining has become readily available. Beginning in the mid-2010s, Filipino cuisine began to take on a more prominent place in the New York metro as well as Washington metro areas. As of 2022, Kabayan Grill had opened six branches on Long Island, including four in Queens, and its largest ''Turo Turo''-style dining branch in Suffolk County, where a growing Filipino community has been thriving on the county's peninsular geography resembling some parts of the Philippines.

Languages

Filipinos in New York and New Jersey, as in the United States as a whole, are highly fluent in English. However, in the largest Little Manilas in the area, including Woodside, Jersey City, and Bergenfield, Tagalog signage is commonplace. Spanish is also learned due to local and cultural proximity to the in New York as well as being commonly taught as a second language in public schools through the NYC Department of Education's bilingual programs.

NYC-area Filipinos

File:Marissa Aroy.jpeg,

Marissa Aroy Marissa Aroy is a Filipino-American director and producer. She directed the documentaries ''Sikhs in America'', which received an Emmy award for "best historical program", and ''The Delano Manongs''. Aroy is also co-founder of the production com ...

File:Regie cabico 4192049.JPG,

Regie Cabico Regie Cabico is a Filipino American poet and spoken word artist. He has been featured on two seasons of ''Def Poetry Jam'' on HBO (produced by Russell Simmons) and has been called the Lady Gaga of spoken word. He is an "out and proud" gay man. ...

File:Jiggly_Caliente.png,

Jiggly Caliente Bianca Castro (born November 29, 1980), commonly known as Jiggly Caliente, is a Filipino-American drag performer, singer, and actress best known for competing on the fourth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', the sixth season of '' RuPaul's Drag ...

File:Ernabel Demillo.jpg, Ernabel Demillo File:Vanessa Hudgens - 2019 by Glenn Francis.jpg,

Vanessa Hudgens Vanessa Anne Hudgens (; born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. After making her feature film debut in '' Thirteen'' (2003), Hudgens rose to fame portraying Gabriella Montez in the ''High School Musical'' film series (2006 ...

File:Dragcon-4 (47937164822).jpg,

Manila Luzon Karl Philip Michael Westerberg, better known by the stage name Manila Luzon (born August 10, 1981), is an American drag queen, recording artist, comedian and reality television personality. Luzon came to international attention as a contestant on ...

File:Vanessa_Minnillo_2009.jpg,

Vanessa Minnillo Vanessa Joy Lachey (née Minnillo; born November 9, 1980) is an American actress, beauty pageant titleholder, fashion model, and television host. She was named Miss Teen USA in 1998. She has been a New York–based correspondent for ''Entertain ...

File:Paolo Montalban and Ali Ewoldt 2016.jpg, Paolo Montalbán and

Ali Ewoldt Ali Ewoldt (born October 6, 1982) is a Filipino-American theatre actress, who made her Broadway debut in the ''Les Misérables'' revival in 2006, playing Cosette. She has also performed on national and international tours and in U.S. regional th ...

File:Nadal in 2009.jpg, Kevin Nadal File:Model Geena Rocero Coming out Transgender (13563189244).jpg,

Geena Rocero Geena Rocero (born 1983) is a Filipino-born American model, TED speaker, and transgender advocate based in New York City. Rocero is the founder of Gender Proud, a media production company that tells stories of the transgender community worldwid ...

File:lea salonga 2021 2.jpg, Lea Salonga

Education

* Tracy Espiritu – District Instructional Coach, Elizabeth Public Schools, Elizabeth, New Jersey, 2014–2015

Milken Educator Award The Milken Educator Awards is an educator recognition program in the United States that provides unrestricted grants of $25,000 cash to teachers deemed successful, in surprise ceremonies. Created in 1985 by education reformer and philanthropist Lo ...

* Amado Gabriel Esteban – President,

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the ...

, South Orange, New Jersey, appointed in 2011 * Conrado Gempesaw – President of

St. John's University (New York City) St. John's University is a private Roman Catholic university in Queens, New York City. It was founded in 1870 by the Congregation of the Mission (C.M., the Vincentian Fathers) with a mission to provide the youth of New York with a Catholic univ ...

* Kevin Nadal, PhD – Professor of

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

John Jay College of Criminal Justice The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts ...

; author, ''Filipino American Psychology: A Handbook of Theory, Research, and Clinical Practice''

Food

* Angela Dimayuga – chef and creative director.

Health

* Vernie Bacolot, MS, RN-BC – President, Philippine Nurses Association of New York, 2012–2014 * Eduardo Macalino, M.D.,

– President, Philippine Medical Association of America, under the auspices of the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016. The AMA's sta ...

* Belle M. Villafuerte – President, Philippine Nurses Association of New Jersey, 2014–2016

Media

– Emmy-winning filmmaker; documentary producer of ‘‘Delano Manongs’’ * Katherine Creag – journalist, ''

WNBC WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo stati ...

'' * Anne del Castillo – Executive director, NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment * Ernabel Demillo – four-time Emmy-nominated journalist; former reporter for Fox-5; host of '' Asian American Life'' on

CUNY TV , mottoeng = The education of free people is the hope of Mankind , budget = $3.6 billion , established = , type = Public university system , chancellor = Fél ...

Kristine Johnson Kristine Johnson (born June 5, 1972, in Angeles City, Philippines), is a co-anchor at WCBS-TV in New York City on the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts with Maurice DuBois. Early life and education Johnson was born in the Philippines, the daughter o ...

– anchor, ''

WCBS-TV WCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–licensed independent station W ...

'' * Ligaya Mishan – food critic, ''The New York Times'' * Noel Pangilinan – editor, specializing in Filipino immigration to the United States * Nina Pineda – journalist, ''

WABC-TV WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neig ...

'' * Elaine Quijano – in October 2016, became the first Asian American journalist to anchor a U.S. national

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

* Hazel Sanchez – journalist, WCBS-TV * Reena Rose Sibayan – photographer, ''

The Jersey Journal ''The Jersey Journal'' is a daily newspaper, published from Monday through Saturday, covering news and events throughout Hudson County, New Jersey. ''The Journal'' is a sister paper to ''The Star-Ledger'' of Newark, ''The Times'' of Trenton an ...

Politics and diplomacy

* Arvin Amatorio – councilman for Bergenfield, Bergen County, New Jersey, elected in 2014 * Carlia Brady – the first Filipino judge in New Jersey's Superior Court system * Patrick Bumatay - United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit * Libran N. Cabactulan – Ambassador to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations * Julie Ann Redoble Ladanan – Web and Multimedia Communications Specialist
United Nations Alliance of Civilizations
*Rolando Lavarro, Jr. – Jersey City council president, elected to city council in 2011 * Peter Mendonez, Jr. – councilman for

West Windsor, New Jersey West Windsor is a township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Located within the Raritan Valley region, the township is an outer-ring suburb of New York City in the New York metropolitan area, as defined by the United States Census ...

, elected in 2013 * Robert C. Rivas – mayor of Bergenfield between 1998 and 2003, the first Filipino mayor on the U.S. East Coast * Maria Torres-Springer – Deputy mayor of New York City beginning January 1, 2022 * Jonathan Wong – councilman for Mahwah, New Jersey, elected in 2014

Religion

* Julian Jagudilla – director of the Migrant Center at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Lower Manhattan

Sports

* Benny Agbayani – retired professional

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player on teams including the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

* Jason Brickman – former Long Island University

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player * Ernesto Ebuen – Six-time Philippine National

Table Tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

champion; and in 2016, the top-ranked ping-pong player in the U.S.; co-founder of table tennis studio startup PingPod

Theater and arts

Joan Almedilla Joan Richelle C. Almedilla (born September 19, 1973) is a film and theater actress, composer, and singer who has starred as Kim in the Broadway musical ''Miss Saigon''. Life and career Almedilla was born to Agapito and Rosario, whose roots are ...

–

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

actress, ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed roma ...

'', ''Les Misérables'' *

– poet and spoken word artist *

–

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

singer, actress, activist, and

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

(contestant on the fourth season of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...

'') *

Joel de la Fuente Joel de la Fuente (born April 21, 1969) is an American actor. He first gained recognition for his role as 1st Lieutenant Paul Wang in '' Space: Above and Beyond'', and is best known for his roles as Dr. Johann Pryce in ''Hemlock Grove'', Kempeitai ...

, Maplewood, New Jersey – actor *

– Broadway actress, first Filipino/Asian American to play Christine Daaé in ''Phantom of the Opera'' *

– Broadway and film actress *

Vanessa Lachey Vanessa Joy Lachey (née Minnillo; born November 9, 1980) is an American actress, beauty pageant titleholder, fashion model, and television host. She was named Miss Teen USA in 1998. She has been a New York–based correspondent for ''Entertain ...

(née Minnillo) – television host, actress, fashion model * Jose Llana – Broadway actor, Drama Desk Award Winner *

– drag queen * Evelyn Mandac – soprano opera singer, orchestra soloist, recitalist, and voice teacher * Paolo Montalbán – Broadway and television actor * Ralph Peña – founding member and current artistic director of the

Ma-Yi Theater Company Ma-Yi Theater Company is a professional, not-for-profit, Obie Award and Drama Desk Award-winning theater company based in New York City that was founded in 1989. Ma-Yi Theater is headed by executive director Jorge Ortoll and artistic director Ral ...

Catherine Ricafort Catherine Ricafort is an American actress, singer, software engineer, and entrepreneur. Ricafort has appeared in several Broadway productions, including Allegiance, the 2013 production of Cinderella, Mamma Mia!, Disaster! and Honeymoon in Vegas ...

– Broadway actress *

Conrad Ricamora Conrad Wayne Ricamora (born February 17, 1979) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Oliver Hampton on the ABC television series ''How to Get Away with Murder'' (2014–20). As a stage actor, he is noted for his roles in th ...

– multiple-award winning Broadway and screen actor *

– transgender

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion i ...

supermodel and activist, founder of the ''Gender Proud'' organization *

Ninotchka Rosca Ninotchka Rosca (born December 17, 1946, in the Philippines) is a Filipina feminist, author, journalist, and human rights activist. best known for her 1988 novel '' State of War'' and for her activism, especially during the Martial Law dictators ...

– writer, activist, feminist, educator, founder of GABRIELA * Lea Salonga – Broadway actress and

Goodwill Ambassador Goodwill ambassador is a post-nominal honorific title, a professional occupation and/or authoritative designation that is assigned to a person who advocates for a specific cause or global issue on the basis of their notability such as a publ ...

for the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

(FAO) of the United Nations

External links

New York Filipino Film and Arts Festival 2006

References

{{Filipino Americans Asian-American culture in New York City Ethnic groups in New York City Filipino-American culture in New York (state)