Coronavirus: Hate Crimes Target Asian Americans; Hotline Created

NEW YORK, NY — Racism and hate crimes have targeted Asian Americans across New York amid an outbreak of the new coronavirus, authorities said. The disease, officially called COVID-19, originated in Wuhan, China. Since then, the state has seen multiple discrimination incidents, authorities said.

This month, a man spat at a Long Island commuter in a Penn Station bathroom, called the commuter a "Chinese f---." A police officer then told the commuter not to file a report.

Two incidents were reported in New York City on a single day. A 59-year-old man said a group of teens kicked him, spit at him and told him to go back to his country in Harlem, and a man punched an Asian American woman, demanding to know, "where is your corona mask?"

In Queens, 44-year-old Raul Ramos, was charged with aggravated harassment in connection with an anti-Asian attack on a man who was bringing his 10-year-old son to school. Authorites called that attack a hate crime. The victim told Patch he was walking his son to a school bus stop in Forest Hills when the man shouted, "Where's your f---ing mask, you Chinese b---h?" and tried to hit him in the head.

Last month, a disturbing video surfaced of a man attacking a masked woman in a Chinatown subway station in what was believed to be a racist attack. Witnesses posted on social media that the man saw that she was wearing a mask and started calling her a "diseased b----."

In response to that attack, the MTA stated that it launched an anti-hate campaign to encourage victims and witnesses to report these crimes, and to encourage "tolerance that should minimize such unacceptable conduct in the first place."

But state prosecutors felt additional measures were necessary.

On Friday, Attorney General Letitia James said a hotline had been created for New Yorkers to report hate crimes and discrimination-based incidents. The hotline will be available for the foreseeable future and stemmed from increasing reports of harassment and attacks against Asian Americans.

In the last week alone, there have been numerous reports in the state of Asian Americans being harassed and physically attacked amid the new coronavirus outbreak. The need for change came after a record number of hate crimes have been reported over the past several months in New York. The hotline was also created after seeing an increase over the last several weeks in anti-Asian rhetoric through terms such as "Chinese virus," which has created a stigma around Asian communities.

"As we face an unprecedented and uncertain time for New York, the United States, and the world, we must reiterate the fact that this pandemic does not give anyone an excuse to be racist, xenophobic, or biased," James said. "No one should live in fear for their life because of who they are, what they look like, or where they come from. I encourage all victims of discriminatory actions stemming from this pandemic to contact my office. We will continue to work with local law enforcement to combat hate in all its insidious forms."

And it's not only criminal attacks facing the Asian American community — restaurants and business saw a sharp decrease in customer traffic over the past weeks, which is believed to be due to the unfounded fears about the new coronavirus. Business owners told state Sen. Anna Kaplan sales fell as much as 40 percent to 70 percent before a single case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the state.

Even President Donald Trump has been criticized for referring to the disease as the "Chinese virus" during several press conferences.

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng called the rhetoric Trump uses "incessant, irresponsible, and atrocious," and said it endangers people already fighting for their lives and trying to keep their families safe during the public health emergency.

"I have repeatedly called on public officials – from the President to the top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives – to abstain from using derogatory language that demonizes Asian Americans," Meng said. "This must stop. Public officials – and the media – must speak truth to power and refrain from dabbling in misinformation or conspiracy theories. I’m urging all New Yorkers to come together, call virus the coronavirus, and report to the hotline those who would use this uncertain time to make racist, xenophobic or biased attacks."

While local law enforcement are responsible for arresting those who participate in hate crimes, the Attorney General’s Office is taking on this issue in other ways, including connecting victims and impacted communities to available resources, launching civil investigations, and supporting local law enforcement, among other steps.

With the new hotline, all hate crimes and bias incidences can be reported by emailing the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Bureau at civil.rights@ag.ny.gov, or calling 1-800-771-7755.