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The NYPD boosted patrol in Asian American communities in the Big Apple on Wednesday — one day after six Asian women were gunned down in Atlanta, Georgia.
In Chinatown, five officers with the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force were canvassing the streets and handing out fliers in English and Chinese urging residents to speak out.
“We are out here handing out fliers to the Asian community so they can know how to report hate crimes and how to call 911, to let them know it’s OK to report a crime,” Officer Andrew Licul, who works in community affairs, told The Post.
Tensions were high in Manhattan’s densely populated Chinese enclave and Flushing, Queens, with many residents saying they fear they’ll be the next victim of the recent spree of hate-crime violence.
“I don’t feel safe anymore,” said Rong Ling, manager of the Mahayana Temple at Canal Street and Bowery, adding that he doesn’t like to walk on the streets alone. “[I have] read a lot of [things on the] news, so I am worried [something might] happen to [me] one day.”
There was also a show of police force around Flushing’s Main Street — providing some comfort to shop owners on the bustling thoroughfare.
“I fear for my family members, for my safety,” said Derrick Chan, who works at Fancy Wave Hair Salon on Roosevelt Avenue. “There should be some type of punishment. The justice system needs to do something. It’s getting worse — more deadly.”
Brandon, who was getting his hair cut at the salon, chimed in, “It could be a normal day and someone could just come through the door.
“We need to find the root cause, motives, why they’re targeting Asians.”
Iris, an employee at Happy Angel adult day care in Flushing, said she and her employees now avoid going out alone.
“It’s not safe, especially for women,” she said.
At Mahayana in Manhattan, receptionist Cindy Lho said the Buddhist temple would host an “emergency prayer service” for the slaughter in Atlanta — where Robert Aaron Long, 21, opened fire at several spas and massage parlors.
Eight people were killed, including six Asian women — fueling speculation that the massacre may have been racially motivated.
The NYPD’s Counterterrorism Bureau tweeted Tuesday night that it was “monitoring” the deadly Atlanta shooting.
“While there is no known nexus to #NYC we will be deploying assets to our great Asian communities across the city out of an abundance of caution,” the post said.
Cities including New York have seen a wave of crimes against Asians, prompting President Biden last week to decry the troubling trend.
“It is wrong, it is un-American and it must stop,” he said.
Additional reporting by Lia Eustachewich
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