3rd Reported Anti-Asian Hate Crime In Forest Hills This May: Cops

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — An Asian woman was verbally harassed in Forest Hills on Saturday, marking the third instance of anti-Asian hate reported in the neighborhood this month, according to the police.

On Saturday May 8, around 4 p.m., an Asian woman standing on Norden Road in Forest Hills was approached by someone, who began to berate her for wearing a mask.

"Why are you wearing a mask? Are you Chinese?" the suspect — who the New York Post reported is a white woman — said to the Asian woman, who did not respond to the harassment and walked away.

The suspect followed her and said "f--- you." This made the Asian woman feel annoyed and alarmed, said police, who have notified the New York Police Department's Hate Crime Task Force about the incident.

At the beginning of the month, two other instances of anti-Asian hate — including harassment and assault — were reported to police in Forest Hills and nearby Rego Park.

On May 1 a group of teens beat up a 15-year-old and called him anti-Asian slurs, and in an incident that was reported to police on May 4, and caught on film, an employee at a Forest Hills boutique spoke to an AAPI woman in a racist way and swung a coat hanger and clothing in her direction, said the NYPD.

In response to the attack against the Asian teenager, Senator Toby Ann Stavisky announced legislation to combat hate crimes, which would require counseling and education for anyone convicted of a hate crime, reported QNS.

Senator Stavisky, who represents New York's 16th State Senate district of central Queens, including parts of Forest Hills, told QNS that this legislation "will help educate those who harbor baseless resentments and prevent them from acting out against others in hate."

"It is not enough to simply punish attackers after their crimes. The ‘fear of the other’ is a tool that has been used to drive division within communities for centuries," she said, adding that in addition to being held accountable through the law, she believes that education will help "prevent these acts from occurring and reoccurring."

These instances happened in the same month that New Yorkers gathered at Flushing Town Hall to rally against anti-Asian hate crimes, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, who reportedly attended and spoke at the rally, saying "if you hate, get the hell out of here because you don't belong in New York City."