Democratic mayoral front-runner Andrew Yang asked New Yorkers to intervene if they see hate crimes in progress, as Asian American politicians demanded that city officials do more to tackle the violence after another spate of attacks over the weekend.
“Anti-Asian racism and bigotry was around long before this pandemic, but as we have seen and felt in our communities these past few weeks, it has metastasized into something far darker and far more deadly,” Yang told reporters as he rode the subway from the Canal Street stop near Chinatown to Times Square.
“We are here because we cannot allow New Yorkers to live in constant fear of taking the subway just because they have an Asian face.”
Yang’s remarks came just hours after yet another Asian man was punched in an unprovoked attack in the Bronx, the latest episode in a string of violence directed at New York’s burgeoning Asian population.
Democratic mayoral front-runner Andrew Yang asked New Yorkers to intervene if they see hate crimes in progress. Gregory P. MangoThe NYPD reported in March there had already been 26 attacks believed to be motivated by anti-Asian biogotry. Updated figures were not immediately available.
“We are here because we cannot allow New Yorkers to live in constant fear of taking the subway just because they have an Asian face,” Yang said. Gregory P. MangoNYPD officials have previously said anti-Asian hate crimes have soared by more than 1,300 percent since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Before hopping on the uptown Broadway train, Yang held a press conference in front of the Canal Street station with more than a dozen other Asian American office seekers, where he asked New Yorkers to do more to confront the violence.
“If you are on the street or in a subway and you see something amiss, take it upon yourself to act,” Yang said. “I’ve been in this situation and it’s not an easy thing. But I promise you that if you do decide to take action, the people around you will follow suit.”
Yang was back on the campaign trail after being sidelined briefly Friday with kidney stones, a day after he and his family attended the Yankees home opener
Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a similar call last week after the city was horrified by the caught-on-tape attack of an elderly Asian woman in Hell’s Kitchen, which was witnessed by employees of a nearby apartment building who stood by instead of offering help.
