Anti-Asian incidents in NYC may have an impact on frustrated AAPI voters; arrest made in fatal subway attack

More guards and police will patrol NYC's subways to prevent violence.

The latest attack against Asian Americans may be pushing AAPI voters towards Republicans, who are perceived to be stronger on law-and-order issues.

Data from the November elections showed a noticeable shift towards Republicans. Though most Democrats survived, a greater portion of voters towards GOP candidates in Chinatown and Queens where a large number of AAPI reside.

After the election results, Democrat Rep. Grace Meng tweeted: "Our party better start giving more of a s**t about #aapi voters and communities. No other community turned out at a faster pace than AAPIs in 2020.” 

“There was a lot of finger-pointing and blaming that led to Asian Americans here in New York City being very afraid of their safety and the safety of their family,” said John Choe, executive director of the Flushing Chamber of Commerce and former Democratic progressive candidate for District 20. “This election cycle, it became clear that many people were voting based on fears and anxieties and anger rather than policy issues that may actually align with their interests long term.”

The latest attack on the subway system added to the frustration felt by some in the Asian American communities that their concerns are not being taken seriously by the party in power.

Indeed, the administration of former Mayor de Blasio  further distanced the Democrats from the AAPI community when he implemented admission policies to specialized schools that discriminated against Asian students.

In the latest attack where 40-year old Michelle Alyssa Go died after she was pushed onto the tracks of the oncoming train at Times Square 42nd Street subway station,  newly elected NYC Mayor Eric Adams tweeted: "Today, a woman entered the subway station, like any New Yorker, just trying to get where she needed to go ... New Yorkers deserve to feel safe while riding mass transit. It's why I stood with (New York Gov. Kathy Hochul) to announce the Safe Options Support teams."

The suspect, who has a history of arrests and mental illness, turned himself in to an NYPD bureau less than an hour after the Saturday (Jan. 15) incident and was taken into custody. He was identified as 61-year-old Simon Martial, was charged with second-degree murder, NYPD said.

"We're providing more law enforcement resources and mental health services to prevent problems before they happen," the mayor added. 

Witnesses said prior to the attack on Go, the suspect approached another woman who was not of Asian descent. Uneasy with Martial's behavior, the woman stepped away from the platform edge because she was afraid Martial would push her.

In a news conference earlier this month, Adams and Hochul announced an initiative to address both public safety in the subway system by sending more officers to inspect subways and stations as well as the homelessness crisis, by deploying trained mental health personnel across the city to support individuals who are homeless.

In Saturday's news conference, Mayor Adams added he was working closely with Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell on a plan which covers both minimizing crime and focusing on mental health.

“Safety throughout the subway system remains a top priority for the NYPD,” said Sewell. “This comprehensive new approach is centered on having more police officers on train cars talking with riders and listening to them because NYPD officers do not just respond to crime in our city – they prevent it and deter it.”

Under the initiative being, hundreds of additional NYPD officers from the Transit Bureau will work in tandem with Patrol Service Bureau officers and other personnel to be present across the subway system, from both their street-side and underground positions, riding the trains and meeting the passengers. Special units will continue to augment this coverage as well, in each sector, on each tour, every day.

For 2021, New York City saw an increase of anti-Asian crime of 361% last year according to  NYPD data.

In a statement on Saturday, Jo-Ann Yoo, executive director of the Asian American Federation, said the Dec. 31 death of a 62-year-old Asian man who police said was bashed in the head in an unprovoked attack in East Harlem eight months ago, is a "reminder that the fear of anti-Asian violence in our community is well-founded.

"It is imperative that New York City implements proactive, community-based solutions that prevent these crimes from ever happening in the first place," she added.

But some in the AAPI community want quicker results. “Politicians pay lip service to phrases like ‘Stop Asian Hate,’” said business owner Ken Ma (no relation to the East Harlem victim), told the conservative New York Post. “But their policies do little to help us. I fear for myself. I fear for my staff. I fear for my community.”

Stories from the conservative media like the Post, Wall St. Journal and Fox News, which endorsed Donald Trump, continue to give the appearance that AAPI voters are  dissatisfied with the Democrats, Meng tweeted: "Really? We’re gonna let the leader of the Republican Party, who tried repeatedly to pin the entire pandemic on Asian Americans, off the hook? He put the target squarely on our backs. #stopasianhate was born directly out of his inciting words."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

Today's movement against injustice and anti-Asian hate emerged from Vincent Chin's murder

Wednesday marked the 39th anniversary of the racially motivated murder of Vincent Chin, a defining moment in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. 

During a period of strong anti-Asian sentiment in Detroit, Michigan due to the rise of the Japanese automotive industry, Chin was assaulted and beaten to death by two former autoworkers who believed Chin was Japanese and blamed him for the loss of their jobs. 

“The brutal murder of Vincent Chin, and the injustice of letting his killers off with a slap on the wrist, was a defining moment in the history of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community – one which underscored the ongoing prejudice and invisibility AAPIs experience every day," said Rep. Judy Chu, D-CA, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus made up of the AAPI members of Congress. 

A week before his wedding, Chin and his friends were celebrating at his bachelor party at a club on the night of June 19, They group was saproached by Ronald Ebens, 43, and Michael Nitz, 23, his stepson, according to NBC News, who, witnesses said, blamed the men for being out of work because of car imports from Japan. 

Following a fight, Ebens and Nitz searched for the group, finding them at a nearby fast-food outlet, where Ebens attacked Chin with a baseball bat while Nitz held him down.

Convicted of manslaughter in a plea deal, Ebens and Nitz were sentenced to three years probation and a $3,000 fine with no jail time. The verdict lead to outrage and protests in the Asian American community. Kin Yee, the president of the Detroit Chinese Welfare Council, called the sentence "a license to kill for $3,000, provided you have a steady job or are a student and the victim is Chinese,'' according to The New York Times.

The attack and the resulting and the lenient sentence sparked outrage and led to the emergence of a pan-ethnic AAPI movement that has gained more energy and attention in amdst the recent surge of attacks against AAPI. 

"As we take time to remember Vincent’s death and honor his memory, we must also reflect on the movement and awareness that his life has inspired.," said Rep. Mark Takano, D-CA. "Vincent’s death is a constant reminder to the AAPI community, and to communities of color, that our fight against xenophobia is not over. We must continue to stay united against every form of hate and keep demanding justice.”

"Thanks to the AAPI movement that started nearly 40 years ago after Vincent Chin’s murder, our community is no longer invisible," added Chu. "While the same prejudice and xenophobia that killed Vincent continues to plague our society today, one major difference is that we now have an outpouring of support from other communities of color, religious groups, and even the President of the United States to address anti-Asian hate. But there is still more to do."