Police have received reports of five such incidents, four at Baruch Houses and one at Gompers Houses, and are investigating the incidents as hate crime because no money was taken and the women seemed to have been selected at random based on their race. The 7th Precinct and Police Service Area (PSA) 4 have stepped up patrols in the area.
Kavanagh addressed the community at the press conference: “We come together today to say that we are very troubled by what appears to be a pattern of harassment and physical violence against people in our community because of their Asian heritage. While the incidents are still under investigation, we want to make it clear that we take the safety of all residents and visitors to our community very seriously, and that we especially will not tolerate threats and violence that are motivated by racial bias. We call on all people of good will to cooperate in the investigation and to work with us to maintain the peace and to promote the mutual respect that allows our diverse Lower East Side community to thrive.”
