The NYC Ferry and New York City is being accused of discrimination after allegedly denying Muslim families entry onto one of its vessels last month based on security concerns, though the ferry service said the incident was a misunderstanding.
Three mothers, two of whom were wearing hijabs, were traveling with their eight children on Sept. 21 when they were not allowed to board a ferry due to what they were told was a security issue.
The women filed a complaint with the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which said the families met up in Bay Ridge to board the Wall Street ferry at around 3:30 p.m., and had no problems. But later on in the day, when they tried to re-board the ferry, two employees denied them service.
“These families were humiliated and traumatized in public view and treated as suspect because they happen to be Muslim. That is unacceptable. We hope the City will live up to its commitment of nondiscrimination and swiftly correct this injustice,” CAIR-NY Litigation Director Ahmed Mohamed said in a statement published in local media.
According to the complaint, because the ferry line was long, they asked if they could wait on the side with their strollers. Once it was time to board, a male and female employee had a private conversation then told the Muslim families that they were not allowed to board, citing security.
The complaint claims one of the employees, a woman, was “rude, unprofessional, and raised her voice” when the families asked for an explantion.
Eventually, the women were told that they were denied from boarding the ferry because the children were standing on the seats.
A spokesperson for the ferry said they are looking into the incident, and told NBC, “NYCEDC takes these matters seriously, and is committed to ensuring that no person is denied the services based on race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, gender identity or disability.”
The families are seeking damages for “humiliation, embarassment and severe emotional distress,” the complaint said, as well as a formal apology, discipline for the involved ferry employees, and culture training.
