Attorney General James Announces $3 Million in Grants Supporting Filipino Cultural Organizations in New York City

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will deliver a total of $3 million in grants to two organizations serving the New York City Filipino community. The Ma-Yi Filipino Theater Ensemble, Inc. d/b/a Ma-Yi Theater Company (Ma-Yi Theater) and Woodside on the Move, Inc. (Woodside on the Move) will each receive $1.5 million in connection with the dissolution of a charity that provided cultural and educational services to the Filipino community in New York City. The funds will be used to produce cultural and educational community programs and services geared toward Filipino New Yorkers.

“I am proud to announce $3 million in grants to support two organizations serving the Filipino community and all New Yorkers,” said Attorney General James. “When a charitable organization closes its doors, it is imperative that its remaining assets are dedicated to continuing its mission. Ma-Yi Theater and Woodside on the Move already provide invaluable arts and culture programming to their communities, and I look forward to their continued success.”

“Ma-Yi Theater Company is deeply grateful to Attorney General Letitia James and the Office of the Attorney General for this extraordinary grant,” said Ralph B. Pena, Producing Artistic Director of Ma-Yi Theater Company. “We are proud to accept this support and pledge to use it to expand cultural and educational programs that serve Filipino American communities across New York State.”

“With five decades of deep roots in Woodside, we are honored to be entrusted by the Office of the Attorney General with this investment in the Filipino community,” said William Jourdain, Executive Director of Woodside on the Move. “Woodside on the Move has long stood alongside our neighbors in helping to build and sustain Little Manila in Woodside, Queens as a vibrant, resilient cultural pocket of the community. This funding allows us to expand culturally grounded programs, strengthen educational opportunities, and deliver vital services that ensure Filipino New Yorkers are seen, supported, and celebrated. We are grateful to Attorney General Letitia James and her team for their trust, and we are committed to carrying this work forward with care and accountability.”

“As a Filipino American and the son of immigrants, I know how vital it is for our communities to see ourselves reflected in the arts, in our history, and in the institutions that serve us,” said Assemblymember Steven Raga. “These investments in Ma-Yi Theater Company and Woodside on the Move are a powerful commitment to preserving Filipino culture while delivering real resources to families in Queens. I’m grateful to Attorney General James for ensuring these funds will continue to uplift and empower Filipino New Yorkers for generations to come.”

These grants were made possible by OAG’s oversight of the closure and dissolution of a charity that provided cultural and educational services to the Filipino community following the sale of the organization’s sole asset, a Park Avenue townhouse. Under New York’s Not-for-Profit Corporation Law, any charitable organization that has assets upon its dissolution must distribute those assets to organizations engaged in substantially similar activities. The dissolving charity was founded in 1976 with a stated purpose of promoting Filipino arts and culture in New York. In the years since, the charity also established and operated a preschool program, which served the community for several decades. The OAG identified two organizations with the capacity to further the mission and purpose of the charity and to receive the funds from the sale of the townhouse: Ma-Yi Theater and Woodside on the Move.

Since 1989, Ma-Yi Theater has produced and developed plays and performances engaging with the Filipino American experience. Ma-Yi Theater’s productions have won numerous awards, and the organization’s Writer’s Lab program is the largest resident company of Asian American playwrights in the country. Ma-Yi Theater also offers youth workshops and other opportunities for the broader community to engage with their work. Ma-Yi will use the grant funds to produce cultural and educational theater productions and related community programming serving Filipino New Yorkers.

Woodside on the Move has provided support to the Little Manila community in Queens for 50 years. The organization offers youth after-school and summer programming, provides support for tenants and small businesses, and hosts cultural events. Woodside on the Move also serves the broader community in Woodside and throughout Queens with services including free tax preparation, community food pantries, and job and health resource fairs. Woodside on the Move will use the grant funds to produce cultural, educational, and social service community programs geared toward serving Filipino New Yorkers.

The OAG would like to congratulate and thank Ma-Yi Theater and Woodside on the Move for their collaboration.

This matter was handled by Registration Section Chief Hanna Rubin, Transactions Section Chief Linda Heinberg, Assistant Attorney General Lori Moses and legal assistant Stephy Zhao, all members of the Charities Bureau. The Charities Bureau is led by Bureau Chief James Sheehan and Deputy Bureau Chief Karin Kunstler-Goldman. The Charities Bureau is part of the Division for Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.