Queens Restaurant a No-show in Defending Discrimination Charges

NO JOY: Falun Gong practitioners listen to a waiter after being forced to leave Lucky Joy Restaurant in Flushing last year. (Evan Mantyk/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—Two women and a nine-year-old girl were booted out of the Lucky Joy Restaurant in Flushing, Queens last year because they practice Falun Gong, according to accounts from three adherents of the spiritual practice.

The three pressed charges against the restaurant for religious discrimination and a year later, on Wednesday, the case was brought before judge Robert Tuosto of the New York State Division of Human Rights in the Bronx.

Close to 20 people showed up in support of the three girls. Nobody came from Lucky Joy—including the lawyer and defendant. After waiting for over an hour, their absence was seen as a no-show and at 10:30 a.m. the hearing continued without them.

The final decision will be announced in no less than 60 days. If the allegations are found true, the owner of Lucky Joy Restaurant could pay up to $250,000 in penalties.

The case carries special significance for the Falun Gong practitioners in New York since it occurred amid widespread verbal and physical attacks against Falun Gong adherents that began last year in Flushing.

An attorney from the U.S. Department of Justice sat in as an observer. The two women and young girl were represented by a senior attorney from the New York State Human Rights Division.

Levi Browde, a spokesperson from the Falun Dafa Information Center human rights group was asked to give a short explanation on Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa. He said the spiritual practice involves sitting meditation, slow movements, and the practice of being truthful, compassionate, and tolerant.

“A main component of practicing Falun Gong is living by these principles,” Browde said.

The practice has been brutally persecuted by the communist regime in China since 1999. Falun Gong adherents in New York saw the attacks in Flushing as an extension of this persecution.
An investigation, including a recording verified by the U.S. State Department, revealed that the New York Chinese Consulate General was involved in orchestrating the attackers.

Denied Service for Their Beliefs

After swearing in, Ms. Zhen Sun told her story through an interpreter. On June 1, 2008, she went to the Lucky Joy Restaurant with a friend, Ms. Huang Wei, and Wei’s daughter. While they were looking at the food behind the glass counter, they were approached by a man and woman who work at the restaurant.

At the time, Sun was wearing a t-shirt that read “Falun Dafa.” The employees at Lucky Joy saw it instantly.

“They said they don’t sell food to Falun Gong,” Sun said.

When asked who made the decision, the man and woman said it came from the owner. The women then asked if they would sell them food if they were white or African Americans. She said they replied, “Yes we do, but we don’t sell to Falun Gong.”

Hearing the ruckus, an older woman came from the back of the restaurant and told the employees to serve them.

“They just ignored the senior lady’s words,” Sun said.

The employer then walked to the door, opened it, and pointed outside with her thumb. “Get out. We don’t want your business,” she said, according to Sun.

The man then held out his arms and shooed the women and young girl out of the restaurant.

“I was shivering,” Sun said.

A reporter from The Epoch Times who was covering a story about the attacks nearby snapped several pictures as the woman booted out Wei and her daughter. The pictures and their accompanying article acted as evidence of the incident. They show the woman holding the door with her thumb pointing out, eyeing Yi and her daughter as they walk by.

The pictures were passed to Sun who confirmed the identity of the Lucky Joy employee.

Sun said she has never been thrown out of a restaurant before and she has not gone back since. Tears began to well in her eyes when she began speaking about it. “It was a very unpleasant experience,” she said.

A teary-eyed Ms. Huang Wei stepped forward to re-cap the story, adding that at the end when the Lucky Joy employees kicked them out, her daughter began crying in fear. For Wei, this was the largest concern, saying it made her feel she could not protect her daughter in a public space.

“I thought this could not happen in America,” Wei said.

 A Pattern of Discrimination

A third woman, Amy Xue, was also asked to testify against the owners of Lucky Joy. She had gone to the restaurant the day before the first two witnesses.

Xue and a group of friends walked in and took a seat. She said that without reason, “as soon as we sat down the waitress approached us and asked if we were Falun Gong practitioners.”

Wondering why, Xue asked the waitress “what does Falun Gong have to do with eating lunch?”

The waitress then told them to get out.

“I felt we did not do anything wrong,” she said. “[It was] just because of our belief.”

After hearing the accusations, at 12:05 p.m. the lobby was checked to see if the owner of Lucky Joy had shown up. Calls were unsuccessfully made to his cell phone.

Since he did not appear, the case will continue moving forward.

The judge said a post-hearing brief will be held no later than July 6, and the decision will be released in no less than 60 days.