22 THE QUEENS COURIER • NOVEMBER 28, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
New Bangladeshi-American political group
fi ghts to represent Queens’ working class
BY MAX PARROTT
mparrott@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A group of progressive Bangladeshi
Americans, who fi rst coalesced on
a Whatsapp thread in support of left -
ist Queens district attorney candidate
Tiff any Cabán, formalized their organization
Photo courtesy of Shahana Hanif
Former LIC teacher had sex with female student, city probe reveals
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A former math teacher at Long Island
City High School allegedly had a sexual
relationship with one of his female students,
and lavished other females students
with gift s, according to a city investigation
released Th ursday.
Special Commissioner of Investigation
Anastasia Coleman found that Peter
Mulbach, 53, of Woodside, began a fouryear
relationship with the student in 2015
and later had her move into his home aft er
she graduated.
“Muhlbach consistently provided
female students with money or gift cards;
had consistent inappropriate phone contact
with female students and provided
at least one student with alcohol and
drugs, and engaged in sexual intercourse
with her both during and aft er her time as
a student,” Coleman said in a statement.
Th e investigation began in 2018 aft er
the investigation unit received an anonymous
tip that Muhlbach was behaving
inappropriately and had even posted pictures
of himself and a student in a bar
online, according to the report. Mulbach
refused to cooperate with the investigation
and resigned from the DOE last
September.
“Th e actions and behaviors of Mr.
Mulbach are completely unacceptable and
they clearly demonstrate his abuse of
authority as a teacher,” Coleman said. “It is
substantiated that Peter Mulbach engaged,
repeatedly, is signifi cant inappropriate
conduct with students and engaged in
employee misconduct, specifi cally when
he altered grades or gave unwarranted
and unmerited passing grades.”
One female student told investigators,
“If you were pretty and a girl, Mulbach
would off to give you whatever grade you
wanted.”
Investigators say Muhlbach’s behavior
can be traced back to 2014, when he began
supplying female students at Long Island
City High School with alcohol and marijuana.
Th e investigation determined that
Mulbach engaged in inappropriate phone,
text and social media contact with students.
Mulbach could not be reached for comment.
“Th ese were deeply disturbing allegations,
and this teacher is no longer a DOE
employee,” DOE Spokeswoman Danielle
Filson said. “He was removed from the
classroom and away from students during
the investigation.”
Photo via Google Maps
A former teacher at Long Island City High School had a four-year relationship with one female student,
according to a city investigation.
with an offi cial launch last
Wednesday, Nov. 13, in Jackson Heights.
During that campaign, the group’s
social media presence started attracting
organizers, activists, campaign strategists
and politicos. Many of its members realized
for the fi rst time the demographic
power they hold as a collective in Queens.
“We have people who have posts in the
political world and the civic world. So
understanding that as a collective, we’re
so much more powerful than our individual
roles and networks,” Raihan Faroqui
said.
With its launch, Bangladeshis for
Political Progress outlined its goals for
developing a grassroots organization represents
the interests of working-class
members of the community.
It aims to build a progressive political
voting block among Bangladeshi communities
by increasing voter participation,
endorsing and organizing for educating
Bangladeshis about the political
process and creating coalitions with existing
Bangladeshi political groups.
According to an Asian American
Federation survey, 66 percent of
Bangladeshi-Americans in New York City
live in Queens. Using census data, Faroqui
put together a map of where Bangladeshi
communities are most heavily concentrated
that includes Jamaica, South
Jamaica, Richmond Hill, South Ozone
Park, Jackson Heights and Elmhurst.
Several members of the group explained
that they feel that a combination of their
country’s history and their experience as
Bangladeshi-Americans shaped their progressive
values like healthcare as a human
right and aff ordable housing for all.
“For many of us, this is very historical.
Th e country of Bangladesh was built
on revolutionaries who rose up against
an oppressive government and fought for
justice. So understanding that that’s our
legacy. Th ose are our grandparents and
our parents,” said Faroqui.
Tenant activist Rima Begum said that
she saw the group’s targeted community
as twofold. One goal is to attract and
mobilize young Bangladeshis who might
already have a progressive political compass.
Th e other is to make inroads to the
older generation of Bangladeshis and
existing political clubs who, she said, tend
to operate hierarchically and support center
Democrats without bottom-up support
from the members.
Begum said that she became frustrated
with some of these groups aft er she
felt like her political voice was not cutting
through. But she hoped that the
group’s educational activities could continue
to bring in the “aunties and uncles”
into the fold.
“We’re acting as a bridge between the
older generation and the younger generation,”
Begum said.
Both Begum and Faroqui stressed that
the group is taking a bottom-up democratic
approach toward decision-making.
So far it has used ranked choice voting
(RCV) to ensure that its members voices
are being heard. Th e group even chose its
name through RCV.
As the group grows and moves forward,
this approach will determine its policy
platform and candidate endorsements,
said Faroqui. At this point, its mission
statement is based more on shared values
rather than nitty gritty
“We really see this as a come up. Our
generation is coming up. Th is is our time.
It’s our moment,” Faroqui said.
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