Electeds call for unity following attack on Sikh man in Richmond Hill
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Assemblymembers David Weprin and Jenifer Rajkumar (center) gathered local leaders including Rep. Grace Meng, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and former City Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley to denounce a recent alleged hate crime against a Sikh man visiting the borough last week. Eagle photo by Jacob Kaye
By Jacob Kaye
Queens elected officials from the local, state and federal level joined community leaders in Richmond Hill Sunday to denounce a recent alleged hate attack on a Sikh man visiting Queens.
Organized by Assemblymembers David Weprin and Jenifer Rajkumar, who share representation of the neighborhood, the officials stood with the local Sikh community, one of the largest in New York City.
“The Sikh community has endured targeted discriminations for many years and the attack on Mr. Singh is a reminder that we need to act to ensure justice and security in our communities,” Weprin said.
Nirmal Singh, 70, the victim, allegedly was punched in his head on Sunday, April 3, while walking in the neighborhood on Lefferts Boulevard and 95th Avenue. The unprovoked attack, which unfolded around 6:45 a.m., left Singh’s face bloodied and injured. He was treated at Jamaica Hospital and flew back to India following his release. He was in Queens visiting relatives.
“This was not the kind of welcome that anybody should give to somebody coming from another country,” Weprin said.
Weprin, Rajkumar, Senator Chuck Schumer, Rep. Grace Meng, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, State Senate candidate Japneet Singh, former City Councilmember and State Senate candidate Elizabeth Crowley and a handful of local leaders denounced the attack in front of the Sikh Cultural Society, a Gurdwara, or place of worship for people practicing the Sikh faith.
The attack happened blocks away from the temple.
“Today, all of New York stands in solidarity with my uncle, Nirmal Singh, and an attack on him is like an attack on my own family – it is an attack on all of us,” said Rajkumar, the first South Asian American woman elected to New York’s state government. “The America that we left India for in America is built on bridges of love, not hate.”
“This is not the first time that I have stood with you here in front of the Gurdwara, but let me tell you, this is the last time I want to be standing here, rallying against a hate crime against one of our own community,” she added.
Hate crimes against Sikhs have increased by 200 percent in the past year throughout the country, according to Rajkumar. The trend follows the rise in hate crimes against a number of religious, racial and ethnic groups in New York City in the past year.
In 2021, there were 198 confirmed hate crimes committed against Jewish people and 131 committed against Asians, the two groups most targeted.
The NYPD was reluctant to investigate the attack on Singh as a hate crime, according to some of the elected officials, however the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is currently looking into the attack, Rajkumar said.
“The 102nd precinct has been very involved – they are conducting a thorough investigation of what happened,” Rajkumar said.
Japneet Singh, who is not related to the victim and who is running for State Senate in District 27, blasted the NYPD’s response to the attack on Sunday, noting that it was local residents who began the investigation, by going from one local business to the next to gather security footage to see if there were images of the perpetrator.
“We were going door to door to see this footage to see who did this – and guess what? The same person that did this walked back in front of our Gurdwara after they did it, meaning this community is still not safe,” Singh said.
“We need drastic measures to make sure this doesn't happen to anybody living in New York state, as well as the rest of the country,” he added. “We came here because we thought America was a safe haven and for this to happen again is unacceptable.”
On the federal level, President Joe Biden recently signed Meng’s COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law. The legislation creates a position at the Department of Justice to speed up the review of hate crimes and directs federal agencies to work with community organizations to increase awareness of the increase in attacks. The legislation was also supported by Rep. Gregory Meeks and Schumer.
“I was grateful a few months ago that President Biden signed my Hate Crimes Act into law,” Meng said. “This legislation doesn't just help Asian Americans – it helps us combat hate and discrimination against anyone in our country, and requires better and more effective data collection of both hate crimes and bias incidents, too many of which fall under-reported and unreported in this country.”
