Brodsky Org fires two who waited to aid Asian victim

Building owners have fired the lobby staff who initially shut the door and stood by while a Filipino-American woman was violently attacked outside the Midtown property.

Rick Mason, the executive director of management at the Brodsky Organization, which owns the luxury apartment building, told residents in an email that the two staff members had not followed “required emergency and safety protocols,” the New York Times reported.

“For this reason, their employment has been terminated, effective immediately,” Mason said in the email.

In the attack, captured by a security camera last Monday, a man kicked the woman in the torso and head while saying “You don’t belong here.” The incident is one of many assaults in the past year on Asian-Americans in New York and across the country.

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Though the original video released was just 25 seconds, a longer version obtained by the Times showed the staffers standing by while the woman was attacked, possibly not seeing the incident. A minute after they close the door, they exit the building to assist the woman and flag down a police car.

Kyle Bragg, the president of 32BJ SEIU, said that the employees, whom he identified as a doorman and concierge, did help the woman and that they will challenge their firings, as they are entitled to under the union agreement. He said the process could take weeks or months.

“We believe we must root out systemic racism in all its forms,” Bragg’s statement said. “We believe that all union workers, especially workers of color who are often the subject of unfair treatment on the job, have a right to a fair process as outlined in their contract.”

[NYT] — Sasha Jones