Everybody lived in the projects. There were white people, hispanic, asians, blacks - everyone. They weren't segregated.
If you were broke/poor, and you applied for it, you could get on the list to live in the reduced cost apartments in one of the projects. "government-run reduced cost housing projects"

The balance of people living there looked more black and hispanic because of the way the economy works. Even though there are fewer of those folks than white people in the general population, they comprise a greater percentage of people living in poverty.

Asian immigrants weren't very numerous in Jersey City prior to the 80s. We had some Phillipinos and Vietnamese/Hmong/Cambodian refugees from the war. There weren't many Indians or people from elsewhere on the continent. Those that did come didn't want to ask for help - at least not that kind of help. They were more likely to live in a shared home or apartment with 12 or 14 people instead of applying for housing.

There are plenty of racists around. Unfortunately even in places like Hudson County where we have a huge melting pot, people are still going to hate different people.

I'm not terribly familiar with the original group - I had some knowledge of cases that happened in the parks and shopping areas of Jersey City - Union City - North Bergen (Central Ave, Bergenline Ave, Pershing Field, Washington Park, North Hudson Park). They weren't as widely publicized as the Mody case, but they did result in a couple of Federal indictments.

At the time, the Feds treated them as a loosely organized group with no real structure, funding, officers or leaders. When the arrests happened, the group went away. Or it seemed to.

I haven't heard anything about any organized group or pattern against Indian people since. I'm not in law enforcement, but I did have several connections over the years. I also do stay up on reading the NJSP and other LE bulletins for public release.

For all I know, they may be looking at your shoes, your pants, or anything else. They might be racist against what you look like, too. But hell - most of the old racists I knew couldn't tell the difference between a Peruvian and a Pakistani. They just know you're different.