Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_94836 This image taken from surveillance video provided by the New York City Police Department shows a person of interest in connection with an assault of an Asian American woman, Monday, March 29, 2021, in New York. The NYPD is asking for the public's assistance in identifying the man. (Courtesy of New York Police Department via AP)
Courtesy of New York Police Department via AP
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_99709 This image taken from surveillance video provided by the New York City Police Department shows a person of interest in connection with an assault of an Asian American woman, Monday, March 29, 2021, in New York. The NYPD is asking for the public's assistance in identifying the man. (Courtesy of New York Police Department via AP)
Courtesy of New York Police Department via AP
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_67541 Pedestrians walk in the Flushing neighborhood in the Queens borough of New York, Tuesday, March 30, 2021. Authorities are searching for a man who viciously attacked an Asian American woman near New York City’s Times Square are asking the public for help — not only in locating the suspect but also in doing its part to disrupt further assaults. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_03721 Police officers stand at the intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue as pedestrians pass them in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York, Tuesday, March 30, 2021. Police have stepped up patrols across the city in the wake of Monday's vicious Times Square attack on an Asian American woman during which no bystanders intervened to help. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_02564 Pedestrians wait to cross the street in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York, Tuesday, March 30, 2021. Authorities are searching for a man who viciously attacked an Asian American woman near New York City’s Times Square are asking the public for help — not only in locating the suspect but also in doing its part to disrupt further assaults. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_91621 Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., at podium left, and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer are joined by community activists during a news conference on the sidewalk where an Asian American woman was attacked, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in New York. The New York City Police Department says an Asian American woman was attacked by a man Monday afternoon who repeatedly kicked her in front of witnesses who seemingly stood by. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_96247 A New York Police Department officer watches a street vendor arrange items for sale along a busy shopping section of Main Street in Flushing, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in the Queens borough of New York, a mostly Asian neighborhood. A vicious attack on an Asian American woman Monday near New York City's Times Square is drawing widespread condemnation and raising alarms about the failure of bystanders to intervene amid a rash of anti-Asian violence across the U.S. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_19936 New York Police Department Officer Rodney Hierro keeps an eye on pedestrians walking on Main Street in Flushing, a heavily Asian neighborhood, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in the Queens borough of New York. A vicious attack on an Asian American woman Monday near New York City's Times Square is drawing widespread condemnation and raising alarms about the failure of bystanders to intervene amid a rash of anti-Asian violence across the U.S. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_96044 New York Police Department Officer Joanna Derkacz keeps an eye on pedestrians passing her on a busy stretch of Main Street in Flushing, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in the Queens borough of New York. Police have stepped up patrols in the largely Asian neighborhood in the wake of Monday's vicious attack on a 65 year-old Asian woman in midtown Manhattan during which no bystanders intervened to help. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_52646 An elderly man looks at two New York City police officers patrolling along a busy section of Main Street in Flushing, a largely Asian American neighborhood, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in the Queens borough of New York. A vicious attack on an Asian American woman near New York City's Times Square is drawing widespread condemnation and raising alarms about the failure of bystanders to intervene amid a rash of anti-Asian violence across the U.S. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_46652 New York City Police Department Officer Rodney Hierro, right, keeps an eye on pedestrians and vendors along a busy section of Main Street in Flushing, a largely Asian American neighborhood, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in the Queens borough of New York. Police have stepped up patrols in the neighborhood amid a rash of anti-Asian violence across the United States. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_04255 An elderly man rests on the base of a pole at the entrance to a Long Island Railroad station along a busy section of Main Street in Flushing, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in the Queens borough of New York. Police and others have stepped up patrols in the mostly Asian American neighborhood amid a rash of anti-Asian violence across the U.S. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_64561 A New York City transit officer walks toward a turnstile inside the "7" train subway station beneath Main Street in Flushing, a largely Asian American neighborhood, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in the Queens borough of New York. Police have stepped up patrols n the neighborhood and across the city amid a rash of recent anti-Asian attacks across the United States, including Monday's vicious attack on an Asian American woman in Times Square during which no bystanders intervened to help. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_84508 New York City Police Officer Joann Derkacz keeps her eye on pedestrians walking along a busy shopping area on Main Street in Flushing, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in the Queens borough of New York. Police have stepped up patrols in the largely Asian American neighborhood amid a rash of anti-Asian attacks across the United States. That includes Monday's vicious Times Square attack on an Asian American woman during which no bystanders intervened to help. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_25933 Two New York City Police officers patrol a busy intersection on Main Street in Flushing, a largely Asian American neighborhood, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in the Queens borough of New York. Police have stepped up patrols across the city in the wake of Monday's vicious Times Square attack on an Asian American woman during which no bystanders intervened to help. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_64603 Pedestrians cross a busy intersection of Main Street in Flushing, a largely Asian American neighborhood, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in the Queens borough of New York. Police have stepped up patrols in similar neighborhoods across the city in the wake of Monday's vicious attack on an Asian American woman during which no bystanders intervened to help. There has also been a rash of anti-Asian violence across the U.S., recently, including a deadly mass shooting in the Atlanta area that left multiple people dead, most of them of Asian descent. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_69502 An Asian American New York City Police officer patrols inside the "7" train station beneath a heavily trafficked section of Main Street in Flushing, a largely Asian American neighborhood, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in the Queens borough of New York. Police have stepped up patrols across the city in the wake of Monday's vicious attack on a 65 year-old Asian American woman in Times Square during which no bystanders intervened to help. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_49877 People cross a busy street in the shopping district of Flushing, a largely Asian American neighborhood, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in the Queens borough of New York. A rash of anti-Asian attacks across the United States in the past few weeks have led police and others to step up patrols in neighborhoods like this one. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_35868 This image taken from surveillance video provided by the New York City Police Department shows a person of interest, background center, assaulting an Asian American woman, on ground, Monday, March 29, 2021, in New York. The 65-year-old woman was walking in midtown Manhattan a few blocks from Times Square on Monday afternoon when a man approached her and kicked her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground, police said. The man then stomped on the woman's face several times while hurling anti-Asian sentiments at her, police said. He later casually walked away, the footage shows. (Courtesy of New York Police Department via AP)
Courtesy of New York Police Department via AP
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_83407 A police officer hangs a sign offering a reward for information on the person who attacked an Asian American woman near the crime scene, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in New York. The New York City Police Department says an Asian American woman was attacked by a man Monday afternoon who repeatedly kicked her in front of witnesses who seemingly stood by. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_83896 A police officer holds a sign near the crime scene offering a reward for information on the person who attacked an Asian American woman, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in New York. The New York City Police Department says an Asian American woman was attacked by a man Monday afternoon who repeatedly kicked her in front of witnesses who seemingly stood by. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_96053 Community activists Calvin, right, and Cameron Hunt show support for the Asian communoty outside the building where an Asian American woman was assaulted, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in New York. The New York City Police Department says an Asian American woman was attacked by a man Monday afternoon who repeatedly kicked her in front of witnesses who seemingly stood by. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
Asian_American_Woman_Assaulted_42894 Community activists Calvin, right, and Cameron Hunt speak to reporters outside the building where an Asian American woman was assaulted, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in New York. The New York City Police Department says an Asian American woman was attacked by a man Monday afternoon who repeatedly kicked her in front of witnesses who seemingly stood by. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
NEW YORK (AP) — A vicious attack on an Asian American woman as she walked to church near New York City’s Times Square is drawing widespread condemnation and raising alarms about the failure of bystanders to intervene amid a rash of anti-Asian violence across the U.S.
A lone assailant was seen on surveillance video late Monday morning, kicking the 65-year-old woman in the stomach, knocking her to the ground and stomping on her face, all as police say he shouted anti-Asian slurs and told her, “you don’t belong here.”
The attack happened outside an apartment building two blocks from Times Square, a bustling, heavily policed section of midtown Manhattan known as the “Crossroads of the World.”
Two workers inside the building who appeared to be security guards were seen on the video witnessing the attack but failing to come to the woman’s aid. Their union said they called for help immediately. The attacker was able to casually walk away while onlookers watched, the video showed.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the video of the attack “absolutely disgusting and outrageous” and said it was “absolutely unacceptable” that witnesses did not intervene.
“I don’t care who you are, I don’t care what you do, you’ve got to help your fellow New Yorker,” de Blasio said Tuesday at his daily news briefing.
“If you see someone being attacked, do whatever you can,” he said. “Make noise. Call out what’s happening. Go and try and help. Immediately call for help. Call 911. This is something where we all have to be part of the solution. We can’t just stand back and watch a heinous act happening.”
Mayoral candidate Andrew Yang, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, said the victim “could easily have been my mother.” He too criticized the bystanders, saying their inaction was “exactly the opposite of what we need here in New York City.”
The attack comes amid a national spike in anti-Asian hate crimes, and happened just weeks after a mass shooting in Atlanta that left eight people dead, six of them women of Asian descent. The surge in violence has been linked in part to misplaced blame for the coronavirus and former President Donald Trump’s use of racially charged terms like “Chinese virus.”
This year in New York City there have been 33 hate crimes with an Asian victim as of Sunday, police said. There were 11 such attacks by the same time last year.
On Friday, in the same neighborhood as Monday’s attack, a 65-year-old Asian American woman was accosted by a man waving an unknown object and shouting anti-Asian insults. A 48-year-old man was arrested the next day and charged with menacing. He is not suspected in Monday’s attack.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called Monday’s attack “horrifying and repugnant” and he ordered a state police hate crimes task force to offer its assistance to the NYPD. No arrests have been made.
The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force, which is investigating the attack, released surveillance video of the attack and photographs of the suspect Monday evening and asked anyone with information to contact the department’s confidential hot line or submit tips online.
The woman attacked Monday was hospitalized with serious injuries. She was discharged Tuesday evening, a hospital spokesperson said. Her name has not been released.
According to video footage of the assault Monday, two people who appeared to be security guards walked into the frame and one of them closed the building door as the woman was on the ground.
The property developer and manager of the building, Brodsky Organization, wrote on Instagram that it was aware of the assault and said staff members who witnessed it were suspended pending an investigation.
The head of the union representing building workers disputed allegations that the door staff failed to act. He said the union has information that they called for help immediately.
“Our union is working to get further details for a more complete account, and urges the public to avoid a rush to judgment while the facts are determined,” SEIU 32BJ President Kyle Bragg said in a written statement. He condemned the attack as “yet another example of the unbridled hate and terror” against Asian Americans.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea announced last week that the department would increase outreach and patrols in predominantly Asian communities, including the use of undercover officers to prevent and disrupt attacks.
The neighborhood where Monday’s attack occurred, Hell’s Kitchen, is predominantly white, with an Asian population of less than 20%, according to city demographic data.
Shea called Monday’s attack “disgusting,” telling TV station NY1: “I don’t know who attacks a 65-year-old woman and leaves her on the street like that.”
According to a report from Stop AAPI Hate, more than 3,795 incidents were reported to the organization from March 19, 2020, to Feb. 28. The group, which tracks incidents of discrimination, hate and xenophobia against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S., said that number is “only a fraction of the number of hate incidents that actually occur.”
