NYC Confronts 'Second Pandemic' Of Anti-Asian Racism: Officials

NEW YORK CITY — A "second pandemic" of violence and racism has kept Asian communities in New York City in fear since the coronavirus struck and must be confronted, officials said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday devoted much of his daily briefing addressing a surge of anti-Asian discrimination — there were 28 reported hate crimes against Asian New Yorkers since the pandemic compared to three the year before, authorities said.

Violence against New Yorkers of Asian descent garnered headlines last week after actress Olivia Munn helped track down a man accused of shoving a Chinese woman in Flushing.

"An attack on our Asian New Yorkers is an attack on all of us,” de Blasio said.

The coronavirus's emergence fueled a wave of anti-Asian discrimination in New York City and elsewhere in the nation, both overt and covert. Restaurants in Chinatown saw their business slow and Asian New Yorkers faced racist attacks on the subway.

President Donald Trump insisted on calling the coronavirus the "Chinese virus" despite fears it could fuel anti-Asian discrimination. (And also despite the fact that the virus's arrival in New York City was actually traced to Europe.)

Rep. Grace Meng, a Queens lawmaker, said the discriminatory rhetoric from Trump and Republican congressional members resulted in violence such as a slashing attack on a Filipino man.

She tied the recent spate of violence to American's lost history of anti-Asian discrimination, from the Chinese Exclusion Act to Japanese internment camps and attacks on south Asian community members after 9/11.

"So many Asian Americans literally live in fear and are afraid to leave their homes because they don’t know what might happen to them,” she said.

De Blasio, a frequent Trump critic and foil, double downed on attacking the ex-president.

"It's so striking to me, just the absence of the negative racist voice of Donald Trump in our daily discourse is beginning the process of healing. But the residue, as you indicated," de Blasio said to Meng, "the residue of that state-sponsored hatred is still very strong."

Jo-Ann Yoo, executive director of the Asian American Federation, called it a "second pandemic." She said her group logged 500 reports of anti-Asian bias and that's likely an undercount.

"Anti-Asian violence is real and we are scared,” she said.

The NYPD's 28 recorded hate crimes against Asians were investigated by a special unit led by Deputy Inspector Stewart Loo, who is of Asian descent. He said they led to 18 arrests.

De Blasio said that Asian Hate Crime Task Force — which has 25 Asian-American detectives who speak 11 different languages — will continue their work within communities. City agencies will meet with Asian community leaders this week, he said.

Yoo encouraged New Yorkers who want to show solidarity with their Asian neighbors to meet Saturday in Foley Square at 1 p.m.