A member of Queens Community Board 5 (CB 5) was removed from the board after making racist and anti-vaccine comments during last week’s board
During the Jan. 11 CB 5 meeting, former board member Richard Huber would make a statement in which he questioned the COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness.
In his rant, Huber referred to the virus as the “Wu flu,” one of the many offensive term for the deadly virus.
“All you ever heard of the so-called vaccine for the Wu flu it was that it was safe and effective and it would prevent transmission and it would prevent you from catching it, yet that seems not exactly to be true,” Huber said during the meeting.
His remarks followed CB 5 District Manager Gary Giordano’s district report, during which he shed light on the recent nurses strike.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards later revealed that he had relieved Huber from his duties as a board member following his remarks.
“For the last three years, our Asian American neighbors in New York City have experienced a surge in bias and violence against their community, and I will not tolerate a community board member using language that has fueled that wave of bigotry and hate,” Richards said. “Therefore, I have removed this individual from Queens Community Board 5 for [that] cause.”
Giordano said that he fully supports Richards’ decision to relieve Huber from his duties as a member of the board.
“The borough president, in my opinion, has cause to remove him,” Giordano told QNS.
