Appellate Division names new award after former presiding Justice Randall Eng

May 4, 2023 Rob Abruzzese

The Appellate Division, Second Department celebrates Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by presenting the first annual Hon. Randall Eng Award, named after the former presiding justice, to Congresswoman Grace Meng. Eagle file photo by Robert Abruzzese.

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In celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the Appellate Division, Second Department is hosting its first annual Hon. Randall T. Eng Awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at the historic courthouse located at 45 Monroe Place, Brooklyn.

The award, named in honor of former Presiding Justice Randall T. Eng, will be presented to an individual who has served the AANHPI communities of the Second Department with distinction. Justice Eng was appointed to the Appellate Division, Second Department in January 2008 and became the presiding justice in 2012. He retired from the bench in January 2018.

This year’s recipient is Congresswoman Grace Meng of New York’s 6th Congressional District in Queens.

Justice Eng, currently Of Counsel to Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C., has a distinguished legal and judicial career. Born in Guangzhou, China, and raised in New York City, Justice Eng was the first Asian American judge in New York State and the first Asian American to serve as Presiding Justice in the state’s history.

Throughout his career, he has held various positions, including assistant district attorney in Queens County, Deputy Inspector General, and Inspector General of the New York City Correction Department. He has also served as an adjunct professor at St. John’s University School of Law and a member of the New York Army National Guard.

Congresswoman Grace Meng, the first and only Asian American Member of Congress from New York State, represents the 6th Congressional District in Queens. She serves on the House Appropriations Committee and is a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, co-Chair of the House Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Antisemitism, and Vice-Chair of the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus.

Meng has successfully passed several pieces of legislation, addressing issues such as religious freedom, public housing, improvements to broadband access, and establishing the first step in creating a national museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture. Most recently, she passed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law to combat the rise in hate and violence during the pandemic.

The Justices of the Appellate Division, Second Department, invite the public to join them in celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and recognizing the outstanding contributions of individuals like Justice Eng and Congresswoman Meng to their communities.