I’ve lived in New York City the majority of my adult life starting at 18-years-old when I went to Columbia University. I stayed in the Big Apple into my mid-thirties.
During that time, I spent more nights than I can begin to remember going out late — sometimes into the early morning — having fun with friends and enjoying all the wonderful events that only a metropolis like New York City can offer.
Those are some of the most fun, carefree and happiest memories from my youth. I am so lucky to have been able to experience so much in the city, while feeling safe and unencumbered.
Christina Yuna Lee could have been any young woman returning from a night out in New York City, or more specifically, she could have been any young Asian woman coming home from a night out in New York City.
What happened to Christina is universally every woman’s nightmare.
If you are not already familiar with her story, she was a 35-year-old senior creative producer at the digital music platform Splice.
She was brutally stabbed more than 40 times in her Chinatown apartment after being followed home by her killer.
Surveillance footage caught homeless career criminal Assamad Nash stalking her into her apartment at 4:30 in the morning.
Neighbors heard her screaming for help and called 911.
She was found in her bathtub bleeding from multiple wounds and pronounced dead at the scene.
Mayor Adams disgustingly blamed negative media coverage of his failure to convince state lawmakers to roll back bail reforms on allegedly racist journalists. (Above) Mayor Adams speaks at the 2022 New York State Democratic Convention on Feb. 17, 2022
Christina was senselessly murdered, in what can only be described as a depraved, heinous, senseless crime at the hands of a lunatic killer, who had absolutely no business living free out on the streets.
Assamad Nash was out on supervised release from jail pending three open cases, including one during which he allegedly punched a stranger on the subway.
Reading about Christina’s murder left me feeling sick to my stomach and horrified.
It is difficult to even think about what her family and friends must be going through in the wake of such a horrific tragedy.
It is hard to think about the intense impact this is having on the Asian-American community.
I also inevitably started thinking about all of my friends, who still live in New York City amidst one of the most significant crime spikes in modern history.
Many of my friends stayed in New York City well after I left despite their acute awareness of the dangers.
They have stayed for a variety of reasons, including career opportunities and proximity to their families.
Some just can’t imagine ever living anywhere else. All of them however, are palpably nervous.
I am on more than one text chain with these friends.
We send each other (among other things) frequent updates about crimes happening across major cities in America with long-running commentary about how awful and heartbreaking it is to watch these cities that we all love revert back to the mayhem of decades past.
It is hard.
Christina Yuna Lee (above) was senselessly murdered, in what can only be described as a depraved, heinous, senseless crime at the hands of a lunatic killer, who had absolutely no business living free out on the streets.
My community of friend who elected to leave New York City still carry a weird melancholy over being forced to move, because of forces outside of their control.
In my case, it ceased to be a place where I felt comfortable with a newborn baby girl.
There have been countless articles, news reports, and commentary on the rising spike in crimes and violence in America’s major cities.
If you have been paying even a little bit of attention, you are more than likely already aware of what has been happening.
Murder, robbery, rape, aggravated assault, burglary, car theft and grand larceny rose by nearly 40% in New York City in January compared with last year.
It would also be remiss not to address the fact that there has been a spike in attacks against the Asian population that has accelerated since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
In additional to Christina Yuna Lee’s murder, 40-year-old consultant Michelle Go was recently killed after a homeless man shoved her in front of a subway car.
NBC news reported that Asian women who live in New York City say they’re standing back from the subway edge and walking home with pepper spray in their hands.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain, vowed during his campaign to confront the rising crime, and he was politically savvy to do so.
Public safety is the cornerstone of any successful administration from local office to the highest national levels.
It is one of the true universal issues that human beings can unite on. People do not want to live and raise their families in places that are unsafe, no matter what woke or progressive reasoning is given to justify them living amongst crime.
People do not want to pay exorbitant amounts of money in taxes to feel unsafe coming home at night or walking with their children around a city.
Time after time politicians make absurd and obtuse excuses for why crime waves are happening in their cities.
But there is no talking point clever enough to make anyone give a pass on this issue of safety.
Christina’s killer, Assamad Nash (above in police custody) was most arrested on January 6th on charges of criminal mischief and attempting to escape police custody. He was due back in court on March 3, but that was too late for Christina.
Unfortunately, Mayor Adams is already looking for excuses.
Recently, he disgustingly blamed negative media coverage of his failure to convince state lawmakers to roll back bail reforms on allegedly racist journalists.
‘I’m a black man that’s the mayor but my story is being interpreted by people that don’t look like me,’ he told an almost all-white group of reporters.
‘How many blacks are on editorial boards? How many blacks determine how these stories are being written?’ he asked.
But the racial makeup of newsrooms is not the problem.
Now notorious bail reform laws in New York City have allowed suspects to return to the streets, often within hours of being arrested.
Christina’s killer was most recently arrested on January 6th on charges of criminal mischief and attempting to escape police custody. He was due back in court on March 3, but that was too late for Christina.
Manhattan’s new District Attorney Alvin Bragg made the situation even worse when he instructed prosecutors to downgrade some serious crimes to misdemeanors and not press any charges for other offenses.
Bragg has since backed off the most extreme parts of this guidance, but he’s hardly embraced a tough-on-crime approach.
And on Wednesday, the powerful head of the state Senate said bail reform is not in the cards.
I can only hope that Mayor Adams has not given up on trying to reel in the abject insanity of the bail reform laws after getting pushback from his fellow progressive lawmakers.
Give Mayor Adams some credit for calling on state lawmakers to reverse these dangerous reforms, but he can’t start looking for reasons to quit trying now.
40-year-old consultant Michelle Go was recently killed after a homeless man shoved her in front of a subway car. (Above) A person holds a candle during a vigil in honor of Michelle Alyssa Go on Jan. 18, 2022, in New York’s Times Square
A failure of this magnitude would be a real tragedy for all New Yorkers.
As my dad used to say, politics has consequences my friends.
Why is the life of Christina Lee not enough of a wake-up call for so many elected officials?
How many women need to be senselessly stabbed to death in order for action to be taken?
Why isn’t the killing of an Asian woman returning home after a night out enough to spark national outrage?
And finally, why is the largest and most populous city in America being governed by people with the perspective of a far-left, progressive college student in a political science class rather than reality?
How many more women have to be senselessly murdered in New York City?
When exactly will enough be enough for these people?
During his time as mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani enacted a ‘broken windows’ law enforcement doctrine.
It is a criminology theory that states that visible signs of crime, antisocial behavior and civil disorder create an urban environment that encourages further crime and disorder, including serious crimes.
It is considered controversial by progressives and a cornerstone doctrine by ‘law and order’ citizens and politicians.
I think of it often when discussing rising crime.
Ben and I have a close friend who is a born-and-raised, proud New Yorker, who recently relocated to Texas.
He told us over the phone recently that he knew his time in New York was over when he started witnessing the return of unabashed commission of crimes by people around the city and on the subway.
On top of that – New Yorkers have again started ignoring lawlessness and police have stopped responding.
He told us, he knows what’s coming next because he lived through the 1970’s and 1980’s – the height of the crime epidemic in NYC.
He and all of us fear and are brokenhearted over what the future holds for New York City.
It’s like these progressive politicians would rather see the city burn itself to the ground in a fury of crime than admit their policies aren’t working.
It is beyond a tragedy. There are policies that are actually getting young women killed.
Don’t forget the politicians who have done this to the city. Don’t forgive them either, and for God’s sake — vote the bastards out of office.
