Queens rises against hate

/
Queens residents gathered in solidarity on Sunday to denounce the increase in anti-Asian attacks. Photo via Queens Borough President’s Office

Queens residents gathered in solidarity on Sunday to denounce the increase in anti-Asian attacks. Photo via Queens Borough President’s Office

By Rachel Vick

Thousands of New Yorkers rallied on the steps of Flushing Town Hall on Sunday to condemn the rise in anti-Asian attacks before marching around the neighborhood to pass the bakery where a woman was pushed to the ground in February.

Community leaders, residents and elected officials gathered in solidarity for the “We Belong Here: Queens Rises Against Hate March,” hosted by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., U.S. Rep. Grace Meng and New York State Attorney General Letitia James.

"This weekend, Queens stood up to hate and said loud and clear that we will not tolerate bigotry and violence against Asian Americans," Meng said. “The ongoing discrimination and racist attacks against those of Asian descent has been disgusting and horrifying. With all of us working together, I am hopeful that we will Stop Asian Hate.”

Meng said she was “heartened by the solidarity and allyship” shown across Queens’ diverse communities during the 1.5 mile march, where dozens of Asian American and Pacific Islander community organizations were joined by allies across faiths and race as one Queens.

“Here in The World’s Borough, an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,” Richards said. “This is why we march; to show those who would spew bigotry that they will never succeed, and that Queens will never be a place of hate.”

There have been 31 reported anti-Asian hate crimes in New York City in just the first three months of 2021 — up from none in the same time period in 2020 — according to the NYPD. The most recent attack occurred only one day earlier, when a teenager was attacked near the border of Corona and Rego Park by a group using anti-Asian slurs.

Many more have likely gone unreported, said Asian American Federation Executive Director Jo-Ann Yoo, who estimated the police numbers represent 10 to 30 percent of incidents.

Anti-Asian hate crimes in New York City are up 223 percent since last year, James said, citing a study from the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University.

“The attacks against the Asian-American community are despicable and antithetical to our values and everything we represent,” said James. “No one should live in fear for their life because of who they are, what they look like, or where they came from.”