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Black Tourists Attack Asian Hostess At Carmine’s Italian Resaurant

3 years ago No Comments

Black Tourists Attack Hostess

A lawyer representing a woman who was part of a group of black tourists attack a hostess in New York City has alleged the clerk instigated the physical altercation of a racist slur.

The scuffle broke out in the Upper West Side after the Asian hostess asked the three guests from Texas to provide proof of vaccination before entering Carmine’s Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side on Thursday, September 16, reported NBC News, New York.

Kaeita Nkeenge Rankin, 44, her 21-year-old niece Tyonnie Keshay Rankin – both from Humble, Texas – and 49-year-old assistant Sally Rechelle Lewis from Houston presented the hostess with their vaccination card when they entered the restaurant.

Moments later, three of Rankin’s male companions arrived at the restaurant, but only one was allowed in after two of the men failed to show identification that matched their vaccination cards. A scuffle broke out between the women and the hostess after the women learned that the men had been refused entry. The hostess was reportedly beaten and beaten and her necklace was torn from her neck.

Carmine’s staff and other passers-by intervened to physically separate the women, and the female tourists were later taken to the police station. In a statement, the restaurant said it was “a shocking and tragic situation when one of our valued employees is attacked for doing his job – as required by city guidelines – and trying to make a living”“.

Manhattan District President Gale Brewer said what happened was “totally unacceptable” and added in another tweet, “There is no place for this type of violence against our important workers.”

New York was reportedly the first major US city to require proof of vaccination for indoor dining, gyms, concerts, and performances, US News reported in August. Under the new mandate, customers 12 years and older must provide proof of vaccination before entering facilities.

New Alleged Details:

Justin Moore, a representative of Kaeita Rankin – a Ph.D. businesswoman in education – claimed in an interview with the New York Times on Saturday that the 24-year-old Asian hostess used the N-word during her confrontation with Rankin’s party.  While there is no proof a racial slur was used, it still would not justify physically assaulting someone.

Moore alleged that the hostess was condescending after Rankin’s group joined the men who were denied entry and that she suggested to Rankin’s party that their vaccination cards were forged. He also claims that she used derogatory comments and the N-word during the out-of-restaurant argument before saying Moore’s client, “Yes, you can leave my restaurant,” and eventually pounced on her. He went on to say that the hostess sustained her injuries because she was being held back by her staff, not the women’s group, the New York Daily News reported.

Hawk Newsome, co-founder and chairman of Black Lives Matter Greater New York, said they plan to hold a protest outside Carmine’s on Monday, claiming “Restaurants use vaccine mandates to enforce their racist beliefs and shut out black patrons.”  Since restaurants are simply following the policies and mandates handed down by the elected officials, his reasoning makes zero sense.  When asked if BLM planned to protest the black-on-black gun violence that plagued the city daily, he didn’t how to respond.

The three women were reportedly charged with assault and criminal mischief following the incident and are expected to appear before the Manhattan Criminal Court on October 1st.

Not true:

In a statement to the New York Daily News, Carmine’s attorney, Carolyn Richmond, denied all allegations, saying the racial profiling claim was “a complete fiction, insincere and utterly irresponsible”. “The idea that someone would become violent if an employee did this necessary role is anathema to New York, the hospitality industry, and New Yorkers in general,” Richmond told the New York Times in another statement. “Since all women presented proof of vaccination, they were all allowed to enter and actually sat inside.”