Photo by Dean Moses
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.2 COM | MARCH 26-APRIL 1, 2021
BY JACOB KAYE
A 13-year-old Asian
American boy is the latest
victim of a string of
anti-Asian hate crimes in
Queens after he was attacked
by a group of teens
on a Flushing basketball
court last week, police
said.
On Tuesday, March 16,
around 6:30 p.m., the 13-
year-old was playing at
Bowne Playground, located
at 142-20 Barclay Ave.,
when he got into an argument
with three other teenage
boys, according to the
NYPD.
After shoving the 13-
year-old to the ground and
the three boys took turns
throwing a basketball at
the young man’s head, cops
said.
One of the attackers
said, “Stupid f––g Chinese.
Go back to your country,”
according to the authorities.
The three teens then
ran off.
The 13-year-old, who
had suffered injuries to his
head during the beating,
was taken to Flushing Hospital
in stable condition.
No arrests have been
made.
The attack is under investigation
by the NYPD’s
Hate Crimes Task Force.
Tuesday’s attack is the
latest in an alarming trend
of anti-Asian hate crimes
in the borough, the city and
throughout the country.
Most recently in Queens,
an Asian American mother
was walking near a Fresh
Meadows park with her
2-year-old baby on Tuesday,
March 9, when an unidentified
man spit in her direction
and called her the
“Chinese virus.”
Nationally, the Asian
American community and
its allies are reeling after
21-year-old Robert Aaron
Long, a white man, opened
fire inside three Georgia
massage parlors, killing
eight people, six of whom
were Asian women. Long
told police that the violence
was not racially motived,
however Korean-language
media reported Long expressed
anti-Asian sentiments
while carrying out
the attack.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
In the wake of anti-Asian
hate crimes on the rise across
the country and the tragic
mass shootings in Georgia
that claimed the lives of eight
people, including six Asian
women, Queens Congresswoman
Grace Meng and her
colleagues are raising awareness
of the upcoming #StopAsianHate
Virtual Day of Action
and Healing on Friday,
March 26.
The lawmakers held a virtual
press conference on Monday,
March 22, encouraging
members of the public, corporations,
organizations and
other entities to post statements
on Friday condemning
the rise in hate and violence
against Asian Americans
that has occurred during the
COVID-19 pandemic. They are
also asking that the public
hold a moment of silence in
remembrance of the Atlanta
victims and their families.
The #StopAsianHate
Virtual Action Day is being
held on a significant day, as
the U.S. enacted its first immigration
law on March 26,
1790. The Naturalization Act
specified that “any alien, being
a free white person,” could
apply for citizenship, but it
excluded Black people, Asians
and Native Americans.
Meng, who serves as the
first vice chair of the Congressional
Asian Pacific American
Caucus, said the racist
attacks against Asian Americans
have been “despicable,
sickening, unconscionable
and disgusting,” resulting in
heightened fear in Asian communities,
where people are
frightened and traumatized
by the scapegoating and bigotry
that began since the beginning
of the pandemic.
“We are asking everyone
throughout the country to
stand up for Asian Americans
during this difficult and challenging
time for our community.
Everyone must do their
part to end these acts of hate
— call it out, prevent it, report
it. We need every person to
step up and stand against it,”
Meng said. “Our diversity has
always made us stronger. We
cannot and must lose sight of
this. These senseless attacks
must stop and we are better
than this.”
Stop AAPI Hate reported
that it has received almost
3,800 reports of hate incidents
from March 19, 2020, to Feb. 28,
2021. The Center for the Study
of Hate Extremism shows that
anti-Asian hate crimes surged
by 149 percent in major cities
across the U.S., while overall
hate crimes dropped by 7
percent. New York City alone
saw an increase of reported attacks
on the Asian American
community, which went from
3 in 2019 to 28 in 2020, an increase
of 833 percent.
In Queens, there have been
anti-Asian hate crimes that
have unfolded, including a
recent incident involving a 13-
year-old Asian American boy
who was attacked by a group
of teens on a Flushing basketball
court in Bowne Playground
on March 16.
The surge in violent attacks
against Asian American
Pacific Islanders (AAPIs)
has led to various groups in
Queens rallying in support of
the community, according to
Meng, who gave a passionate
and emotional testimony during
a House Judiciary Committee
hearing on violence
against Asian Americans on
March 18.
“Over the past few months,
so many different communities
have rallied in support
of the Asian American community
— Black, Hispanic,
Native Americans — have
stood with Asian Americans
throughout the past year,
and especially in the last few
days. Their allyship has been
critical in our fight and it has
meant a lot to me and our entire
Asian community,” said
Meng, also recognizing leaders
and elected officials on all
levels of government showing
solidarity to combat discrimination
against the community.
The congresswoman has reintroduced
the COVID-19 Hate
Crimes Act as AAPIs experience
a wave of physical, verbal
and online attacks in Queens
and beyond. The legislation
seeks to address the ongoing
hate and violence toward
AAPIs by providing greater
assistance with law enforcement
response to COVID-19
hate crimes and creating a
position at the Department of
Justice to facilitate review of
such cases.
According to Meng, it’s not
just a simple solution of law
enforcement presence at the
local level, but it’s also providing
resources to prevent these
incidents from happening in
communities.
A 13-year-old Asian American boy was attacked inside Flushing’s
Bowne Playground in an alleged hate crime.
Photo via Google Maps
Group of teens attack
Asian American boy,
13, in suspected hate
crime in Flushing
Rep. Meng raises awareness of
#StopAsianHate day of action
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