Queens Lawmakers Condemn Racist Remarks Against Asian Americans During City Council Hearing QNS.com

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Queens lawmakers condemn the speakers’ comments as racist, divisive and hurtful against the Asian American community during a City Council testimony hearing on Thursday, Dec. 8.

In a video shared on Twitter, the speaker, identified as Douglass Powell, a leader of the VOCAL-NYs Homelessness Union, called Asian Americans garbage testimonies and called them racists during the hearing of the Council’s Civil and Human Rights Committee regarding Manhattan Councilman Keith Powers. controversial bill (Intro. 632) that would end criminal background checks on potential tenants.

Powell testified about the importance of ending housing discrimination against those with criminal records. He had spent three years on Wards Island after being released from prison. He struggled to find housing with a voucher, according to Vocal NY, a grassroots organization of low-income people dedicated to ending the AIDS epidemic, the war on drugs, mass incarceration and homelessness.

Here it is: pic.twitter.com/CwPPipvFsF

— Reza Chowdhury (@RezaC1) December 8, 2022

These are not crimes. It’s a question of race. It’s about black people, the man said. I live in Rego Park now. It’s the most racist neighborhood I know, and there are only Asians in there. If you walk into the store they will follow you around like you are ready to steal something. What they’re talking about is all the garbage they want black people to live in the black neighborhood because it’s not their neighborhood because they’re from China, Hong Kong, New York.

Douglass’s remarks prompted responses from several Queens lawmakers.

Councilwoman Sandra Ung said the speakers’ remarks were despicable, offensive and racially divisive.

The speakers’ comments, which portray Asian Americans as perpetual aliens who are not real American citizens and do not belong to this country, are particularly dangerous given the rise in hate crimes against Americans. of Asian descent, Ung said. Racist rhetoric like this that continues to perpetuate false and dangerous stereotypes has no place in our city, let alone in council chambers, and should be spoken out by all. The witnessing group should immediately issue an unequivocal apology.

Councilor Lynn Schulman, who represents Rego Park, said the language used against Asians is divisive, demoralizing and shameful.

It is doubly hurtful that this vitriol was aimed at my #Rego Park constituents, Schulman said.

The language used here against Asians is divisive, demoralizing and shameful. It is doubly hurtful that this vitriol was aimed at my constituents in #RegoPark. https://t.co/WivOP3Q38F

— Lynn Schulman (@Lynn4NYC) December 9, 2022

MP Daniel Rosenthal called it disheartening and disturbing to see the hatred and xenophobia being spewed in Council chambers.

Hate speech like this is dangerous and cannot go unanswered, Rosenthal said.

Council Bob Holden said Asian Americans are New Yorkers as much as anyone else and hopes @VOCALNEWYORK cuts ties with anyone who espouses such racist talk. Repugnant.

Meanwhile, Twitter users echoed those sentiments and wondered which council members were present at the hearing and why they didn’t intervene in Douglass’ anti-Asian tirade.

Republican Councilwoman Vickie Paladino called out progressive Democrats for not backing down from “hate testimony” in the chambers.

“It should also be noted that several Democratic CMs stood up and tearfully chastised me when I suggested that drag queens don’t belong in schools. Says a lot about their priorities,” Paladino tweeted. “That’s what progressive Democrats bring to the boardroom: open anti-Asian hatred. Totally unacceptable, but at least they don’t even try to hide it anymore. Vote accordingly.

It should be noted that no Democratic CM has interrupted this hateful testimony or has given up on it in the chamber.

It’s also worth noting that several Democratic CMs stood up and tearfully chastised me when I suggested that drag queens don’t belong in schools.

Says a lot about their priorities.

— Councilman Vickie Paladino (@VickieforNYC) December 9, 2022

Since it was a hearing for his bill, Powers responded to a constituent by saying he was not in the room during the hearing.

I was in the next room for a different audience at this point, as were most of the members (D and R) at this point in the hearing, Powers wrote. It’s not tolerable, but I’d appreciate it if you checked the facts before you decide to attack people on Twitter.

In another tweet, Powers said: “I would make it abundantly clear that no one should walk into the Council Chambers of New York and deliver hate speech.

I’ll be crystal clear, no one should walk into the rooms of @NYCCouncil and say hate speech. https://t.co/73dJLhKCOl

— Keith Powers (@KeithPowersNYC) December 9, 2022

Councilor Nantasha Williams, chair of the Civil and Human Rights Committee, released a statement on the matter.

Racism and discrimination hurt us all in different ways and responding to it with similar rhetoric is never the solution, Williams wrote on Twitter. As a black woman, a member of one of the most hated and despised demographics on the planet, I personally know how deeply hurtful language can be to our progress as a people and to our personal safety. Bias against Asian communities, Black communities and those involved in justice is the product of systemic racism that we must stand against.

In May, I held a hate crimes hearing to highlight the recent increase in anti-Asian hatred in our city, Williams added. I felt it was important to ensure that our Asian brothers and sisters had both the support and the resources they needed to fight hate. Our liberation is rooted in everyone’s freedoms, which is why I denounce any hateful comments against any community.

Council President Adrienne Adams said anti-Asian hatred can never be the answer to anti-Black racism.

Our shared experience of insecurity against racism and violence should unite us, Adams said. Respect is essential for constructive public policy dialogues, let us demand it of another with responsibility and healing.

Following the hearing, Vocal NY released a statement on Twitter saying the harmful language used is unacceptable and not representative of the organization’s values ​​and mission.

Bias is insidious and is a byproduct of structural racism and trauma experienced by communities of color, the organization wrote on Twitter. As an organization, we are committed to and depend on cross-cultural solidarity. We recognize the personal and collective nurturing practices it takes to build and achieve this, and we apologize for the harm that today’s language has caused our brothers and sisters of Asian descent. The hearing in question gave space to an anti-black language that is also part of this story. We believe accountability should include owning flaws and learning from them, and VOCAL-NY is committed to reflecting and unlearning the biases that hold us all back.

In response to today’s hearing, the prejudicial language used is unacceptable and not representative of the values ​​and mission of our organization. Bias is insidious and is a byproduct of the structural racism and trauma that communities of color experience.

— VOCAL-NY (@VOCALNewYork) December 9, 2022

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