22 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 3, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
editorial
A time to celebrate, not hate
Flushing’s joyous Lunar
Title: Irishman arrested at JFK Airport after allegedly
mooning fl ight crew: Feds
Summary: Police offi cers at JFK International
Airport took an unruly passenger off a Delta Airlines
transatlantic fl ight from Ireland, after the soccer coach
allegedly “pulled down his pants and underwear and
mooned a fl ight attendant and passengers.”
Reach: 4,934 (as of 1/27/2022)
THE QUEENS
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JENNA BAGCAL, KATRINA MEDOFF, CARLOTTA MOHAMED,
JULIA MORO, BILL PARRY
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MARIA VALENCIA
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New Year parade is set to
return on Saturday, Feb. 5,
for the fi rst time since the onset
of the COVID-19 pandemic in
2020.
Since the last time this
parade was hosted, the
Flushing community — and
Queens’ Asian community as
a whole — has faced diff erent
kinds of adversities during
the ongoing pandemic, none
more so than the rash of hate
crimes.
Right from the beginning of
the pandemic, the Asian population
in Queens and throughout
New York City were constantly
harassed, with many
uninformed citizens blaming
them for bringing COVID-
19 to town. Soon, the fi ngerpointing
led to much more.
We have published too
many stories centered around
racism and hatred against our
borough’s Asian population as
we try to bring attention to
the alarming increase of anti-
Asian hate crimes in Queens
and around New York City.
But words alone are not
enough. We hear residents
and politicians alike condemn
these crimes, but actions speak
louder than words, and we
need to take action and work
to put an end to this bigotry.
How can we help put an end
to these types of crimes? By
standing together, supporting
each other and condemning
these acts.
We have seen Queens offi -
cials host rallies around the
borough denouncing the hate
crimes. And those rallies are
necessary and important —
but they are not enough. We
need to see more action at
the community level, and that
starts with local community
boards and the residents they
serve.
Anyone who is the victim
of a hate crime should report
it to authorities. Far too oft en
these crimes are underreported,
and if victims don’t go to
the police, they should feel
comfortable bringing it to the
attention of their local community
boards or even their
neighbors, who can join forces
and help bring attention to
these incidents, or even solve
a case. Aft er all, who knows
the people in their neighborhoods
better than the person
who lives in your building, or
who lives next door?
Only by reporting these
crimes and making them public
can we begin to weed out
the “bad eggs” and make a difference.
Saying change is necessary
doesn’t make it so; acting
on those words does.
And that brings us to the
Lunar New Year. Let us all
work together and move past
this dark time in our borough’s
history. Let us celebrate
with our borough’s Asian
population and usher in an
era of unity in the “World’s
Borough.”
According to the Flushing
Chamber of Commerce, the
Lunar New Year is traditionally
the most important shopping
season in Flushing, with
many mom-and-pop stores,
restaurants and local businesses
relying on the celebration to
boost sales and generate revenue
to survive another year.
So let’s all do our part this
Lunar New Year and show
love and support to a community
that can use some.
Photo by Dean Moses
Flushing’s Lunar New Year parade is set to return for the fi rst time since 2020 and we
encourage Queens residents to celebrate and support local Asian businesses.
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