Need a team to halt Asian bias: Donovan

As part of a new series of policy proposals by mayoral candidate Shaun Donovan, if elected, his administration would create a specialized team dedicated to stopping attacks against people of Asian descent.

Working within the existing Mayor’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crime, Donovan’s staff would collaborate with district attorneys across all five boroughs, the NYPD and other agencies to stop and prevent hate crimes as the city continues to reel from an alarming spike in anti-Asian violence.

“During these unprecedented times, [Asian-American and Pacific Islander] New Yorkers have fought for the well-being of their neighbors and their city. Many risked their lives on the front lines of our COVID response,” states a policy memo Donovan’s campaign shared Wednesday with the Daily News. “Through this all, non-AAPI New Yorkers and the New York City government have fallen short of doing their part.”

The city has seen about 40 reported anti-Asian hate crimes so far this year — compared with 29 for all of last year — according to NYPD stats. Authorities believe many crimes go unreported.

That’s “mostly due to an understandable lack of trust in law enforcement,” according to Donovan, a former top official in the Bloomberg and Obama administrations.

The candidate, a Democrat, said he’d try to improve police relations with Asian communities through town halls and by adding diversity to the NYPD’s ranks.

The proposals come as contenders in the packed mayoral race have sounded off on the wave of anti-Asian violence.

Businessman Andrew Yang, who’s been leading the polls, gave an emotionally charged speech saying one victim “could easily have been my mother.”