You are reading

Assembly Member Kim Advocating for Anti-Bullying Lessons for NYC Students

Assemblymember Ron Kim

April 24, 2020 By Allie Griffin

Queens Assembly Member Ron Kim and Brooklyn Senator Kevin Parker are calling on the mayor and schools chancellor to add anti-bullying lessons to the curriculum for New York City public school students.

The lawmakers said the lessons are needed as hate crimes and violence against Asian Americans have risen across the city during the coronavirus pandemic in a letter to the mayor and chancellor yesterday.

In one incident last month, a man dressed in camo assaulted a 47-year-old man — who was with his 10-year-old son — on Queens Boulevard in an apparent hate crime.

The bigot repeatedly yelled anti-Asian remarks like “You f–king Chinese” and “Where’s your f–king mask” and shoved the father’s head before fleeing.

Kim and Parker said the Department of Education should create a virtual lesson plan on anti-bullying and anti-hate for students in Kindergarten through 12th grade immediately.

They worry that discrimination towards Asian Americans will continue long after the pandemic ends.

“We believe that this trend of anti-Asian sentiment will continue even after this health crisis,” the lawmakers wrote. “President Trump’s persistent anti-immigrant and anti-China statements and actions have made New Yorkers of Asian descent increasingly vulnerable scapegoats for racial animosity.”

President Donald Trump has come under fire for referring to the coronavirus as the “Chinese virus” because it originated in Wuhan, China.

Several Queens politicians denounced the president’s comments as racist.

Acting Queens Borough President Sharon Lee – the first borough president of Asian descent in the City of New York – said that the use of the term is extremely problematic.

“It emboldens the discrimination, harassment and targeting of many Americans,” Lee said. “Calling it a ‘Chinese virus’ instead of the accurate term ‘COVID-19’ inflames racism, empowers xenophobia, and resurrects ‘yellow peril’ perceptions that endanger Americans, including American citizens like myself.”

Council Member Peter Koo reiterated Lee’s point.

“Not only does trying to normalize the term ‘Chinese coronavirus’ recklessly go against their official definition of the virus, but it inflames racial tensions,” Koo said. “This is not a virus that affects one country or one group of people. Coronavirus is worldwide. We must fight it as one.”

Most cases of the virus came to the U.S. from people traveling from Europe — not China or other Asian countries, research shows.

email the author: [email protected]
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

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

Recent News

CM Moya announces support for massive Metropolitan Park proposal near Citi Field

Council Member Francisco Moya announced his support for Metropolitan Park, a proposal put forward by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International that calls for the construction of a casino and entertainment complex on the parking lot just west of Citi Field.

In a lengthy statement released on Thursday afternoon, Moya said that when he was first approached about the project, his main consideration was ensuring that it would meet the needs of his constituents and provide a major boost to the local economy.

Long Island man charged in fatal Flushing hit-and-run that left 81-year-old man dead: NYPD

A Long Island truck driver was arrested on Tuesday and booked at the 109th Precinct in Flushing for a fatal hit-and-run collision that killed a Murray Hill senior who was riding an electric bike on Northern Boulevard three months ago.

Kyle Schreiber, 27, of Lincoln Boulevard in Hauppauge, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in the death of 81-year-old Peter Seo on the morning of Thursday, Dec. 28.

MTA seizes 19 ‘ghost’ cars registered to toll violators at Queens Midtown Tunnel on Monday

Two days before the MTA Board approved the controversial congestion pricing plan for Manhattan on Wednesday, the agency cracked down on persistent toll violators at the Queens Midtown Tunnel in Long Island City.

MTA Bridges and Tunnels seized 19 vehicles registered to persistent scofflaws on Monday and issued 81 summonses and confiscated two fraudulent incense plates. The MTA noted that the scofflaws accounted for approximately $483,000 in combined unpaid tolls and fees. One of the top persistent toll violators from the targeted enforcement owed nearly $76,000 in tolls and fees.