Is Councilman Carlos Menchaca A Coward?
At the beginning of July, there was an incident outside the mosque on 53rd and 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn. Muslim teens said they were attacked by man. The man contends these the teens were harassing his fiance.
Initially everyone was calling it a hate crime. I wrote about it on both Twitter and here because it was released to looked like a hate crime. We were shown a video where teens were attacked. We were all shocked because no one wants anyone in their community to be picked on for their religion. Christopher Vallaro, the attacker seen in the video was labeled a Muslim hater.
YET COUNCILMAN CARLOS MENCHACA OF SUNSET PARK DIDN’T SAY OR DO ANYTHING.
There’s no mention of the incident on his twitter or his Facebook wall. Why hasn’t Menchaca called for the whole video to be released? Why hasn’t Carlos Menchaca addressed the issue with the community? The men from the mosque stormed the next neighborhood (Bay Ridge) with the police from Sunset Park because they were so angry that they weren’t being heard!
The NYPD announced that it wasn’t a hate crime. After seeing the teens bruised faces and people thought, “wow the system is rigged.” The Muslim community urged people to contact their lawmakers to ask them to have the situation reviewed as a hate crime.
Something isn’t right here.
When I looked up the address of the mosque and saw Carlos Menchaca was the Councilman, I realized why nothing was being done. I thought Menchaca was retiring. BUT ON 7/30 pictures were posted that he was running for re-election. REALLY?
HOW IS MENCHACA RUNNING FOR OFFICE AGAIN WHEN HE HASN’T DONE ANYTHING TO STOP THE HATE?
Ironically, no one in Brooklyn has called on Councilman Menchaca to do something about this! It’s like they know Menchaca isn’t going to do anything so they don’t even say his name. In Bay Ridge, if a garbage can rolls into the street, people want to call Councilman Gentile – an over exaggeration of course, but people say they will call Gentile for every little thing that happens in Bay Ridge. To see Councilman Menchaca completely ignore the issue and the community accepting that he isn’t doing ANYTHING is strange!
While Menchaca was silent, Assemblyman Felix Ortiz posted a message on Facebook:
Public Advocate Leticia James issued this:
The news came with more information about the crime later. The teens approached the car with the woman in it. One story indicated that the teens thought they were speaking to a prostitute. Even if the teens thought the woman was a prostitute, why would they go and speak to her? If the teens thought this woman was a prostitute, were they speaking respectfully to her? In some articles even stated that the boys reached into the car. Why not release the tape to the public and let us see what happened five or ten minutes before the situation started. Muslim leaders could show that the teens were not harassing the woman. If there are prostitutes in that area – then that is another issue that Councilman Menchaca needs to deal with.
Then I saw the video of one of the teens, Ahmed Emrech. I watched the video several times because Ahmed didn’t mention the woman at all. Actually Ahmed says the man either doesn’t like Muslims or is a Trump fan. Ahmed’s brother, Yousef says his brother was attacked for no reason. He actually blamed the situation on a personal vendetta on Muslims.
If I was in car and some young men came up to my car at that time in the morning (1:00 AM), I know I would be yelling for Lee on my cell phone. In Brooklyn, men don’t approach cars and speak to women unless there is an emergency. I would think it would be too bold of a move for these two teens to be reaching into the car…..Let’s see the tape.
Even if the video shows that the teens instigated the situation, I in no way support the view that the teens deserved to be assaulted – the NYPD had charged Vallaro with assault. However, I do think that Brooklyn people are very passionate towards those they love and I could understand his anger if the tape shows that the teens were messing with his fiance.
Why haven’t any any leaders asked for the full video to be released to show the truth?
If Carlos Menchaca isn’t addressing the issue of Muslim hate or hate towards women, then why is he in office?
Why does this matter? I’ve lived in the area all my life and people of all nationalities and religions have always gotten along. Most people in Bay Ridge like their neighbors and have good friendships with them. This incident happened in Sunset Park, but the 72nd Precinct allowed a group to storm Bay Ridge even though the incident didn’t happen here. The 72nd Precinct who declared it wasn’t a hate crime led the group into Bay Ridge because some media revealed the Golden endorsed Trump. Golden has not endorsed Trump yet (Congressman Dan Donovan DID so the 72nd Precinct should have taken the group to storm Donovan in Staten Island) OR MAYBE STORM CARLOS MENCHACA’S OFFICE FOR DOING NOTHING! If there is hate in Sunset Park towards Muslims or women, then Carlos Menchaca should be handling the situation and I haven’t seen him say or do anything.
On March 13th, the photos of a man who sexually assaulted a woman on 50th Street in Sunset Park were released. Everyone in Sunset Park and Bay Ridge shared the photos. Yet, Councilman Carlos Menchaca did not share the story or the photos. Menchaca was silent.
When it’s a hate crime – declare it. If it isn’t a hate crime and just simply a men acting inappropriately, it’s okay to say that as well.
Finally, why did the 72nd Precinct ignore the call for protection near the Muslim holiday? These are questions that Carlos Menchaca needed to clear up for his community.
Why didn’t Menchaca do SOMETHING? Either Menchaca doesn’t care or he is too much of a coward to deal with the issue with the community. The Councilman has been called out for lack of response before (here & here). It’s obvious to me that Menchaca believes leadership is dancing and posting pictures to Instagram.
Leadership in Brooklyn is hard work and since the salary of a Councilperson increased this year, the people in Sunset Park are clearly being denied leadership! Councilman Menchaca needs to get the entire tape of the situation, post it online and deal with the issues in the community (hate towards Muslims or women and prostitution if that is also an issue).
Hugs,
marlene
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