More anti-Asian hate crimes rock Village area
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
The Village and surrounding neighborhoods
continue to see a rash of
assaults and other attacks against
Asian New Yorkers —crimes that have contributed
to the outrage across the country
over similar hate crimes.
Fortunately, in at least one hateful episode,
cops were quick to cuff the suspects
responsible.
Detectives with the NYPD Hate Crimes
Bureau arrested a homeless man who allegedly
attacked a woman in NoHo as she
headed to a protest against anti-Asian
violence on Sunday morning.
Deoliveira, Erick Deoliveria, 27, was arrested
on the night of March 22 on charges
of assault and criminal mischief, both as
hate crimes.
Cops said Deoliveria allegedly attacked
the victim as she walked in front of 51 Astor
Place in NoHo at about 11:37 a.m. on
March 21. According to police, she carrying
a sign she was bringing to the protest
when the suspect stopped and asked to see
the placard.
Police said Deoliveria allegedly took the
sign and attempted to place it into a nearby
garbage can, then decided to drop it onto
PHOTO COURTESY OF NYPD
The suspect who assaulted a 37-yearold
woman on Astor Place in NoHo
on March 21, 2021, as the victim was
heading to a protest against anti-
Asian hate crimes.
the sidewalk and stomp on it.
When the victim asked Deoliveria
why he did that, cops said, he allegedly
responded by punching the woman twice
in the face.
Video footage that the NYPD released
on Monday morning shows the suspect
quickly walking toward the entrance to
the Astor Place subway station on the 6
line, at the corner of Astor Place and East
8th Street.
The incident was reported to the 9th
Precinct. EMS units brought the victim to
Lenox Hill Healthplex for treatment of a
small cut and bruise to her lip, as well as
a sprained ankle which she suffered while
attempting to run after her attacker.
Meanwhile, police are still looking for
the brute who beat an Asian man on the
Lower East Side on Saturday morning.
Cops said the 66-year-old victim was
attacked by a bigoted brute in front of 196
Allen St., just off of Houston Street, at
about 8:55 a.m. on March 20.
Police reported that the suspect approached
the victim and began yelling at
him before punching the man multiple
times about the face. Authorities said the
victim did not know his attacker.
Sources familiar with the investigation
said the victim, who speaks little English,
had heard his attacker utter the word
“Chinese” multiple times before the assault.
Following the attack, cops said, the bigot
fl ed on foot southbound along Allen Street
before turning eastbound along Stanton
Street.
Offi cers from the 7th Precinct and EMS
units responded to the scene. The victim
suffered swelling and bruising to the left
side of his face, but police said he refused
medical attention at the scene.
Later on Saturday afternoon, the NYPD
released images of the suspect involved in
the morning assault. He’s described as a
man with a light complexion between 30
and 40 years of age, standing between 5
feet 5 inches and 5 feet, 7 inches tall and
weighing about 130 pounds.
Anyone with information regarding
the hate crime can call Crime Stoppers
at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial
888-57-PISTA).
PHOTO COURTESY OF NYPD
The suspect in a March 20 assault of
a 66-year-old man on the Lower East
Side that police are now investigating
as a hate crime.
Inside the ‘Fast for the Forgotten’ at Judson Church
BY DEAN MOSES
Essential workers in New
York City are starving for
their fair share.
“Fast for the Forgotten” is a
hunger strike to push elected offi
cials to increase aid for essential
workers who have received nothing
during the pandemic. They are
demanding that the amount of aid
be increased by the next New York
State budget deadline on April 1.
We visited the strikers on
March 20, which marked their
fi fth day without food. Initially,
they had started their demonstration
outside the Church of the
Ascension on 10th Street and 5th
Avenue. The group then moved
to Judson Memorial Church at
55 Washington Square South on
March 19, which has now become
their permanent camp.
Bundled up in blankets and
rubbing their hands together,
the morale amongst the group
remained steadfast, thanks, in
most part, to the support they
are giving one another. Although
almost a week of fasting had
clearly taken its toll, many in
the encampment sang songs
and joked with one another but
beneath the veneer of joy, their
faces told a story of desperation.
Rubiela Correa had tears in
her eyes as she told us of her
struggles, not only during the fast,
but also over the past year.
Before the pandemic hit, Correa
made her living as a house
cleaner and caregiver to both
adults and children. However,
once New York City shut down
last March, she lost her job since
her employers feared exposure
due to Correa taking mass public
transportation.
Correa, an undocumented
immigrant, has been living in the
United States for over nine years
and works to support her family.
She says she pays her taxes and
works hard to make a life for herself
and her son; however, while
others have received COVID-19
relief aid, Correa has been left
with no assistance.
“We are participating in this
Rubiela Correa is an essential worker who has been on
hunger strike since March 16
strike as workers because we
haven’t received any sort of support.
Not one dollar. Nothing,”
Correa said, through a translator.
Bianca Guerrero, the campaign
coordinator of the Fund Excluded
Workers Coalition, is amazed and
driven by the passion embedded
within the strikers. She has
helped plan and coordinate the
strike in New York City as well
as in Westchester County. Her
motivation to be a part of this
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
movement is simple, she empathizes
with their struggle.
“These workers know that they
do just as much and pay just as
much taxes as everybody else in
New York. They won’t settle for
anything less than what everyone
has been receiving,” Guerrero
said, adding, “I’m driven by their
motivations and their determination
to get what they deserve. We
gotta make sure these workers do
not get left behind.”
Guerrero’s grandmother was
from the Dominican Republic,
making her living like many of
these essential workers, babysitting
and caring for children. If the pandemic
occurred when Guerrero’s
grandmother was working, Guerrero
believes she too would not be
able to survive the devastation left
behind by the coronavirus.
Ana Ramírez, a New York
Communities for Change member,
has spent months fi ghting for
the voice of essential workers to
be heard. Even while being on a
hunger strike for over 110 hours,
she pushed the need to eat aside
and joined a rally in Washington
Square Park on Saturday, demanding
that Governor Cuomo
provide aid for essential workers.
Ramírez, Correra, and countless
others are prepared to starve
themselves to receive their fair
share in government relief.
“You should all know that my
hunger strike is just the beginning
because if you want to see me die
of hunger, you will see that,”
Ramírez declared.
Schneps Media March 25, 2021 3