Asian Community Watch serves as watchful eye in Brooklyn
NEW YORK -- May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and in the Homecrest section of Brooklyn, a group of concerned residents is taking prioritizing community safety seriously.
With matching vests, and flyers in hand, the volunteers walk through the streets of their neighborhoods, stepping into dozens of businesses along the way.
Last summer, CBS2 introduced you to the folks behind Asian Community Watch, a local civilian patrol group dedicated to preventing crimes against Brooklyn's Asian communities. Stanley Ng is a volunteer from Dyker Heights, hoping to learn and eventually do something similar in his neighborhood.
"I learned to step up. I learned to watch," Ng said. "I learned when to get involved and when not to get involved."
The unarmed group is trained by John Doherty, a retired NYPD Lieutenant, who works as coordinator.
"Use your cellphone, record the criminal activity. Do not confront people, just generally doing this safely," Doherty said.
The initiative was created and funded by Brooklyn City Councilmember Inna Vernikov. Her office has also allocated the $60,000 needed to keep the group running for a second year.
"People who are uncomfortable in this community to call the police, they can call people who speak their language, who will understand them," said Vernikov, who often patrols with the group.
They typically patrol along the busy commercial strip on Avenue U, between East 19th and East 13th streets, where they can have a larger presence in the community, posting up and passing out detailed information on how to contact them for help, and sign up to volunteer.
They stopped by Golden Z Chinese Restaurant, where the owner said an elderly Asian person was attacked a few years ago.
"Somebody just pushed the elderly, just fell down," said Henry Zhong, whose family owns the restaurant. "At least somebody cares. This is the most important thing."
According to the NYPD Hate Crimes Dashboard, there were 1,427 hateful incidents in the three-year span between April 2020 and 2023. Of those, the Asian community was targeted at least 238 times, 51 of which were felony assaults.
"I was personally hurt by some of the Asian crime elements that I saw being perpetrated," said retired NYPD Deputy Chief Dewey Fong, who now volunteers his time to help. "There are people out there looking out for you and who care for you and we're not just serving the Asian community, we are serving the entire community."
They also focus on bringing attention to quality of life concerns like trash, rats, and unsafe street conditions.
The group says it is actively searching for volunteers to help with the evening patrols.
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