These three NYC coffee shops are hosting pop-up events with Holocaust survivors next week

Next week, from April 12 through 14, three New York City coffee shops will host special “Sip & Listen” sessions with Holocaust survivors, timed to coincide with Yom HaShoah. The events aim to “create space for stories that must be heard.”

The initiative is a joint effort between the Yad Vashem USA Foundation and The Blue Card, which provides financial assistance to destitute Holocaust survivors across the United States.

The series will kick off on Sunday, April 12, at 4pm at Effy’s Cafe on the Upper East Side. Holocaust survivor Olga Spiegel will speak at the event.

On Monday, April 13, Adrienne Petrook—who survived World War II with the help of her aunt and immigrated to the United States in 1950 after living in Austria—will speak at Caffe Aronne at 1pm.

Petrook will also speak the following day, Tuesday, April 14, at 4:30pm at Patis Bakery.

The effort feels particularly resonant in New York City right now, amid a documented rise in antisemitic incidents. The city is also home to the largest population of Holocaust survivors in the United States, with roughly 14,000 to 15,000 people living across the metro area.

That local reality is part of a broader, more urgent global context: as of January 2026, there are an estimated 196,000 Holocaust survivors alive worldwide, an 11% decline from the year before. The rapidly shrinking number underscores why creating opportunities to hear directly from survivors feels more important than ever—and the organizers know that, too: according to an official press release, the initiative is expected to expand to other major cities in the near future, including Miami, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Dallas.

Here is a breakdown of the three upcoming events, with the various RSVP links:

April 12 at 4pm: Effy’s Cafe at 1688 York Avenue by 89th Street. RSVP link.
April 13 at 1pm: Caffe Aronne at 976A Lexington Avenue by 71st Street. RSVP link.
April 14 at 4:30pm: Patis Bakery at 676 Amsterdam Avenue by 93rd Street. RSVP link.