You are reading

Council Candidates to Host “Stand Up Against Asian Hate” Rally in Sunnyside Saturday

Western Queens Council Candidate Julie Won at a rally against Asian hate in Manhattan (Julie Won via Twitter)

March 3, 2021 By Allie Griffin

Two City Council candidates who are vying for the 26th Council District seat in western Queens are joining together this weekend to host a rally against Asian hate.

Julie Won and Steven Raga are hosting the “Stand Up Against Asian Hate” rally on Saturday, March 6 at Bliss Plaza, located at 46th Street and Queens Boulevard. The rally will begin at 1 p.m.

Won, a first-generation Korean immigrant, and Raga, a Filipino American, have organized the rally in response to a recent uptick in attacks against Asian New Yorkers.

Last month there were at least two such attacks in Queens alone, including one incident in which a 52-year-old Asian woman was shoved to the ground by a man in Flushing.

The recent jump in anti-Asian attacks comes after a year of increased Asian bias–primarily tied to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were 28 hate crimes against Asian Americans in New York last year, compared to just three in 2019, according to the NYPD.

Won said racism against Asian Americans has been a longstanding issue that has been missing from the traditional “Black and White” race narrative in the U.S. It has also been compounded by the “model minority” myth that has pitted the Asian community against other communities of color, she said.

“In our multi-racial city, we must stand in solidarity against racism of all forms to dismantle the system that nurtures inequities,” Won said. “As a city, acknowledging anti-Asian racism is a crucial step in our anti-racist work. It’s not Black against white, it’s everyone against racism.”

The rise in bias attacks against Asian Americans was what prompted Raga, a board member of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), to run for City Council.

“We need to address these issues,” Raga told the Queens Post last month. “The city has played down this issue for far too long.”

Western Queens Council Candidate Steven Raga with Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer at an earlier rally against Asian hate in Manhattan (Steven Raga via Twitter)

The Queens rally will be held exactly a week after a Manhattan “Rise Up Against Asian Hate” rally organized by the Asian American Federation.

Raga and Won are two of roughly 20 candidates running to represent Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island City and parts of Astoria in the City Council.

The seat is currently held by term-limited Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, who is running for Queens Borough President.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Repeat hate crime offender charged in anti-Muslim subway attack in Forest Hills: DA

A Southeast Queens man is being held without bail after he was criminally charged with assault in the first degree as a hate crime and other charges for allegedly punching and kicking a Muslim woman on an E train in Forest Hills during the early morning hours of Wednesday, June 18.

Naved Durrni, 34, of 106th Avenue in Jamaica, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Thursday and additionally charged with aggravated harassment in the first and second degrees.

Hate Crimes Task Force investigating bomb threats against Mamdani: NYPD

The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force launched a probe into multiple death threats made against Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani after his district office at 24-08 32nd St. in Astoria received four expletive-filled phone voicemails, on various dates, making threatening anti-Muslim statements by an unknown individual, including a threat to blow up his car.

The calls were made from an untraceable number and labeled the mayoral candidate a “terrorist who is not welcome in New York or America” in a message phoned in on Wednesday morning.

Seven teens indicted for attempted murder in brutal Kissena Park gang attack on two girls: DA

A Queens grand jury indicted seven teenagers for attempted murder, gang assault, robbery, and other crimes for an attack on two girls inside Kissena Park in Flushing in early May.

The defendants, who are all 17 years old, were variously arraigned in Queens Supreme Court between June 4 and Wednesday in two separate 25-count indictments with two counts of attempted murder in the second degree. If convicted, they face up to 25 years in prison.

Queens Defenders founder charged with stealing nonprofit funds as second scandal unfolds

The founder of the Queens Defenders and her husband have lawyered up after they were indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the non-profit organization.

Former Queens Defenders executive director Lori Zeno, 64, surrendered Wednesday at the Brooklyn federal courthouse. Zeno was arraigned on an indictment charging her and Rashad Ruhani, 55, with wire fraud conspiracy, theft, money laundering conspiracy and other crimes.