NextSharkNextShark.com
Latest Newsletter🍵 Ming-Na Wen honoredRead

Article

New York City Council holds hearing on wave of anti-Asian hate crimes

nye
  • New York City Council members convened on Tuesday for a hearing to address ongoing local anti-Asian hate issues.

  • The hearing was conducted by the Council’s Committee on Civil and Human Rights and the Committee on Public Safety.

  • According to Christopher Marte, a member who represents Chinatown and sits on the Council’s Committee on Civil and Human Rights, the hearing questioned New York City Police Department officials and members of the city’s Commission on Human Rights.

  • Councilmember Julie Won used her time during the hearing to ask about reports that the NYPD Hate Crimes Bureau downplayed incidents of anti-Asian hate brought to them.

Asian America Daily - in under 5 minutes

Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories, to your inbox daily, for free!

Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive

New York City Council members met Tuesday at a hearing to address the continuous local anti-Asian hate crimes.

The hearing, jointly conducted by the Council’s Committee on Civil and Human Rights and the Committee on Public Safety, aimed to address “what progress, if any, has been made in regards to the city’s response to the widespread hate, and where there is room for improvement,” an email announcement said.

Christopher Marte, a member who represents Chinatown and sits on the Council’s Committee on Civil and Human Rights, said the hearing questioned New York City Police Department officials and members of the city’s Commission on Human Rights.

The hearing also comes as anti-Asian hate crimes went up in the country by 342% in 2021, with hate incidents nationally exceeding 10,000 in under two years. New York has recently faced several highly notable crimes that resulted in the deaths of Michelle Go, who was shoved in front of a subway; Christina Yuna Lee, who was followed home and stabbed; GuiYing Ma, who was struck in the head by a rock and, most recently, Zhiwen Yan, who was shot while making a food delivery. 

Councilmember Julie Won, who represents Long Island City, Sunnyside, Astoria and Woodside, attended the hearing to share her own stories of the fear she and others in her life currently feel. Won, whose mother works at a nail salon until 9:00 p.m., said she stays on the phone with her mother when she’s leaving work.

Won also shared the accounts of her child’s nanny, saying, “She simply told me ‘I cannot get on the train later than 9:00 p.m. because I’m too scared,’” further explaining, “That is the reality for every Asian American living in New York City right now.” 

Won also sought to address claims that the NYPD Hate Crimes Bureau has downplayed incidents of anti-Asian hate brought to them, acknowledging that addressing these topics is difficult because “there’s just so much happening all at once. Kind of the perfect storm.”

 

Feature Image via @nyccouncil / Instagram

Support our Journalism with a Contribution

Many people might not know this, but despite our large and loyal following which we are immensely grateful for, NextShark is still a small bootstrapped startup that runs on no outside funding or loans.

Everything you see today is built on the backs of warriors who have sacrificed opportunities to help give Asians all over the world a bigger voice.

However, we still face many trials and tribulations in our industry, from figuring out the most sustainable business model for independent media companies to facing the current COVID-19 pandemic decimating advertising revenues across the board.

We hope you consider making a contribution so we can continue to provide you with quality content that informs, educates and inspires the Asian community. Even a $1 contribution goes a long way.  Thank you for everyone's support. We love you all and can't appreciate you guys enough.

Support NextShark

Mastercard, Visa, Amex, Discover, Paypal