Photo Courtesy of BP Richards’s Office
“Elected officials, community organizers, faith leaders — we all stand here as one borough, The World’s Borough, to unequivocally declare that hate has no home here. It never has, and it never will,” Borough President Richards said on Monday.
By Forum Staff
On Monday morning, borough elected officials joined community and faith leaders, and law enforcement personnel, on the steps of Borough Hall to address what Queens Borough President Donovan Richards characterized as a troubling rise in bias crimes, especially against Asian American and Jewish communities, both in recent weeks and over the past year.
“I want to thank all our friends in the press for being here today — at the People’s House — to discuss a virus that has been in our midst long before COVID-19 came to town. That virus is called hate,” Richards said in his remarks.
“For even just one of these incidents to occur here in Queens, the most diverse county in America, is an affront to everything we represent.
But for three to happen in one week, on top of everything our borough has been through over the past year? It’s time to stand up and say ‘enough.’
These types of attacks are the reasons why when I was a Council Member, I pushed for the creation for the Office of the Prevention of Hate Crimes. It is also why I believe in the education efforts of the NYC Commission on Human Rights, and the work of its Bias Response Team.
Hear me clearly, this behavior does not belong in our community — in the One Queens we are trying so hard to build.
To those who look at their neighbors with anger and resentment, and act on hate: Queens welcomes individuals of all racial backgrounds, ages, faiths and gender identities.
If you do not share our values or our shared future, you can gladly leave.
There is no place for hate and disrespect in our gorgeous mosaic, as the late Mayor David Dinkins so eloquently put it.
Those who hate are the very antithesis of who we are — a roadblock to progress we are eager to cast aside and never see again.
This is a borough where we love and uplift one another.
This is a borough where we strive every day for equity across the spectrum, so that all our families can enjoy the spoils of Queens’ successes.
This is a borough that is not just a place, but an idea.
It is the manifestation of a dream that millions of people across the world come here to realize.
Belonging.
No matter what you look like, where you come from, who you love, how you identify or who you pray to — you belong. And Queens belongs to you.
This is your home. Our home.
And every single one of us deserves to walk our streets and ride our subways free from hatred and harm.
So today and every day, Queens stands united — rooted in love, tolerance and respect for one another.
It is so helpful for community members not to feel isolated and alone. This is a time where we need community healing, investing in services and supports that address root causes, and the promotion of restorative justice practices.
Elected officials, community organizers, faith leaders — we all stand here as one borough, The World’s Borough, to unequivocally declare that hate has no home here.
It never has, and it never will.”
