Ferry ripped after barring Muslim fams
Three humiliated Muslim moms and their eight kids were barred from boarding an NYC Ferry for two hours over a vague “security issue” that turned a fun family outing into a tear-filled disaster, the families charged in a complaint filed Wednesday.
The three women, including two wearing hijabs on the outing from Brooklyn to Manhattan, recounted how their Sept. 19 excursion became an embarrassment — detailing in a 16-page filing with the city Commission on Human Rights how the children were weeping and confused by their mistreatment at the hands of two ferry workers.
“Complainants were embarrassed and humiliated, especially since the incidents occurred in public view of all ferry passengers,” the three families charged. “Complainants could feel the ferry passengers’ eyes directed at them. … The child complainants were all frustrated and upset. Many of them were crying.”
The families planned their outing as a farewell to one mom and her kids before they departed the U.S. for Pakistan, with everyone taking the ferry from Brooklyn to Manhattan without incident. But their return trip was blocked by two ferry workers who stopped the group from boarding, citing only a “security issue” that was never explained.
The pair instead shut the ferry gate on the group of 11, leaving them stranded for two hours at the Wall St. pier. They were then subjected to another “rude, unprofessional” ferry employee who shouted at the already-distraught women and children, the complaint alleged.
“These families were humiliated and traumatized in public view and treated as suspects because they happen to be Muslims,” said Ahmed Mohamed, litigation director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in New York. “That is unacceptable.”
The city Economic Development Corp. said in a statement that it was looking into what happened.