Recently, hundreds of people gathered in Times Square of NYC late Tuesday night to honor Michelle Go, a woman who was killed after being pushed into a subway train over the weekend.
Go was an Upper West Side resident who worked as a consultant for a management firm called Deloitte, she also did volunteer work with the New York Junior League that involved helping the homeless.
Go’s larger-than-life portrait smiled over the vigil, which laid as a indictment on the city she loved and served, alongside other Asian victims of hate crime and abuse.
“Michelle, we will miss you deeply. Know you will always be in our hearts and memories,” work friend Louise Chang said at the vigil.
“She clearly had a very strong passion for working one-on-one with these populations in need,” said New York Junior League President Dayna Cassidy. “She was a very compassionate soul who wanted to be rewarded by that direct impact and directly working with those individuals and watching them evolve over time.”
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The subway attack happened on Saturday after 9:30AM within the Times Square-42nd Street subway station.
Go was struck and killed in the apparently random attack that . Officials do not believe the attack was a hate crime, but even so, assaults on Asians have skyrocketed.
Police say the man accused of shoving her, who police identified as 61-year-old Simon Martial, has a history of mental illness and is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.
The mayor has come under fire for his initial response to the killing. Accused of being tone deaf to the cries of the city.
“We will hold them accountable. The safety of New Yorkers is a human right,” said by Ben Wei, a known figure for fighting against Asian hate crimes.
“I’m re-committed to make sure this will not happen in our city.” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.
After Go was killed, Adams made a stunning admission about the city’s transit system.
“We’re going to make sure New Yorkers feel safe in our subway system.” Adams said. “I don’t feel that way when I’m moving throughout our transportation system.”
The mayor’s displeasured feedback to the current condition and state of subway safety was more than welcomed by Janno Lieber. The acting MTA chairman who runs the transit system.
“I think Mayor Adams is showing that he gets it, he gets how New Yorkers are feeling,” Janno Lieber said. “He gets that even though, statistically, the chances of being the victim of a crime on the subway are very, very low — and, God forbid, being a crime victim of a crime like the one that took place in Times Square. But New Yorkers also perceive a lack of safety because they are seeing and hearing about these extraordinary, alarming subway pushing episodes.”
The incident had actually happened within two weeks after Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul demanded that homeless outreach and police presence be increased dramatically.
Go’s family released a statement that included calling her “a beautiful, brilliant, kind, and intelligent woman.” who created an impact for NYC.
“She was a kind and generous person. She volunteered incessantly and worked hard to help others as she sought to make our city an even better place,” Congresswoman Grace Meng described.
Artwork of past Asian American victims who have been attacked or killed was on Times Square digital billboards by an artist named @jdschang:
