Weprin Calls for Citywide Anti-Bullying Initiative

Councilman Mark Weprin, D-Oakland Gardens, is calling for a citywide initiative to combat bullying in public schools following a recent suicide attempt by a student in his district.

A 12-year-old girl who attends Floral Park’s 172Q attempted suicide after being bullied at school over a period of time, Weprin said. One of the girl’s friends intervened, saving her life.

In May, Gabrielle Molina, a 12-year-old who attended 109Q in Queens Village hanged herself after dealing with severe bullying, including cyber bullying, at her school.

Weprin is now calling on the city to undertake an initiative to fight bullying at city schools. “It is time for a citywide call to action to stop bullying among teens and pre-teens,” he said. “As a parent with children in middle school and high school, I will not stand by as students’ lives are at risk.”

In 2011, Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed into law a bill by Weprin that altered city human rights laws to facilitate instruction on bias-related harassment, especially cyber bullying.

Weprin said the widespread presence of Internet access, cell phones and electronic devices in recent years has enabled bullies to harass their victims via Internet messaging, chat rooms, social networking sites, email and text messaging.

“Too many children and teens have suffered for no good reason,” Weprin said. “If we want our children to grow up in a nurturing and compassionate society, there is absolutely no place for cyber bullying or for bullying of any kind.”