Queens mom targeted in latest apparent anti-Asian hate attack

Two boys stand up against anti-Asian hatred and bias attacks in Sunnyside March 6. Photo by Walter Karling

By Rachel Vick

A 25-year-old Asian woman says she was spit on — while holding her baby — and called “Chinese virus” by a man in Fresh Meadows on Wednesday morning.

The NYPD said they were investigating the attack, which occurred near Kissena Corridor Park, as a hate crime.

Councilmember Peter Koo said the incident was the latest example of widespread anti-Asian hatred which has manifested in attacks, particularly against vulnerable New Yorkers.

“One year ago, I issued a statement decrying the use of the term ‘Chinese virus’ by President Trump and other public officials when referring to COVID-19,” Koo said. 

“Back then, too many people in positions of power masked their own racism and brushed aside the fears of the Asian community,” he added.”Yet here we are one year later suffering from almost daily attacks that often contain those same racist words: ‘Chinese virus.’” 

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng called the attacker a “coward” on Twitter.

Anti-Asian hate crimes surged in 2020, accounting for 10 percent of all bias crimes in New York, THE CITY reported last month. The NYPD recorded nine times as many anti-Asian bias crimes in 2020 than in the previous year — 27 last year compared to three in 2019. 

Many of the attacks have targeted vulnerable New Yorkers, including older adults and in the incident Wednesday, a young woman holding a baby.
"I'm not surprised, to be honest,’ Korean Community Services Center CEO Linda Lee told ABC 7. Lee is a candidate in Queens Council District 23. “We've been hearing about a lot more of these incidents happening in broad daylight"