Organized on March 5, 1990, and formally chartered on February 13, 1991, the Metropolitan New York Chapter serves the Filipino American community throughout Southeastern New York and Western Connecticut.

The Filipino presence in metropolitan New York is as longstanding as that of many of the region's immigrant communities. In the wake of the Spanish-American War of 1898, Filipino students began enrolling at institutions such as Columbia University, New York University, and Cornell University in Ithaca. In the decades that followed, Filipino service members and merchant seamen arriving after both World Wars established communities throughout New York and New Jersey, settling in neighborhoods such as Woodside, Jackson Heights, Jamaica, and Jersey City that remain culturally significant to Filipino American life today.

Over the course of the twentieth century, Filipino Americans have left an indelible mark on New York's cultural landscape, contributing to Broadway, fashion, music, film, comedy, hip-hop, poetry, and dance. Their presence is likewise woven into the broader narrative of the city's history; from participation in the Civil Rights Movement to involvement in the city's financial industry through the rise and fall of Wall Street, and, tragically, among those lost on September 11. Since 1946, waves of Filipino families arriving to work for the United Nations, the Philippine Mission to the UN, and the Philippine Consulate have further shaped the community's presence in the metropolitan area. This legacy of service was perhaps most visible during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Filipino American nurses constituted a substantial share of the frontline healthcare workforce that cared for New Yorkers through the crisis: a testament to a long and continuing tradition of civic and professional dedication.

Today, the Metropolitan New York Chapter carries this history forward through its collaborations with a broad network of community organizations, cultural institutions, and civic partners across the region. Through these partnerships, the chapter continues its founding mission of preserving and disseminating Filipino/a/x American history and culture for present and future generations. We invite those who share in this mission to become members, lending their support to our educational programming, community initiatives, and oral history projects that safeguard the stories of Filipino America for generations to come.