Chinese American Man Kicked in the Head in Manhattan

A 61-year-old Chinese American man was attacked by a man who kicked him repeatedly in the head in East Harlem, the NYPD said.

The man was collecting cans when he was attacked from behind, knocked to the ground and kicked in the head around 8:20 p.m. Friday. He was taken to Harlem Hospital in critical but stable condition.

Surveillance video released by the police appears to show the attacker stomping on the victim’s head approximately seven times. The police department’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the attack, the latest in a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes in New York and around the country during the Covid pandemic, which originated in China.

Mayor Bill de Blasio called the assault “outrageous” on Twitter. “Make no mistake, we will find the perpetrator and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” de Blasio said Saturday.

The U.S. Senate passed legislation last week aimed at fighting the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The measure would expedite the review of hate crimes at the Justice Department and provide support for local law enforcement in response to thousands of reported violent incidents in the past year.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday he is “sickened to learn of yet another bigoted act of violence against an Asian American man.”

“This is not who we are as New Yorkers,” said the governor, “and we will not let these cowardly acts of hate against members of our New York family intimidate us.”

Police did not release the victim’s name, but multiple news outlets identified him as Yao Pan Ma, a former restaurant worker who lost his job because of the pandemic and was collecting cans to make ends meet.

The victim’s wife, Baozhen Chen, 57, pleaded for police to find her husband’s attacker in an interview with the New York Post.

“Please capture him as soon as possible and make him pay,” Chen said in Mandarin through a translator.