Nov. 17, 2016 By Domenick Rafter
Despite rumors on social media that have left many residents concerned, the 112th Precinct said Wednesday there have been no reported hate crimes in the command since the election of President-elect Donald Trump on Nov 8.
Reports of hate crimes against Muslims, Hispanics, LGBT people and even Jews have flooded social media around the country since Trump’s victory, including reports of a Muslim woman who was harassed for wearing hijab on a bus in Bellerose and a black teenager told by white high school students to sit in the back of a bus. The incidents have led to some rumors on social media about similar incidents occurring in Forest Hills.
But both Heidi Harrison Chain, president of the 112th Precinct Community Council and the precinct’s commanding officer, Captain Robert Ramos, told attendees at the council’s meeting Wednesday night that there have been no reported hate crimes.
“Thank goodness we haven’t had a single report of a hate crime in this community,” Harrison Chain said.
Ramos reiterated that statistic later in the meeting after a resident stood up and expressed her concern about potential hate crimes in the wake of the election.
“We haven’t had a single report,” he said. “We take hate crimes very seriously.”
Harrison Chain noted that the Forest Hills community has long championed tolerance and acceptance of different cultures, including holding workshops in schools to educate children on tolerance and about different cultures.
“We have always pushed tolerance and acceptance and we are proud of that,” she said.
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