Committee to Combat Hate Oversight Hearing on Community-Based Prevention and Response to Hate and Bias - June 23, 2026
Committee to Combat Hate Oversight Hearing on Community-Based Prevention and Response to Hate and Bias - June 23, 2026
The New York City Council Committee to Combat Hate, chaired by Yusef Salaam, held an oversight hearing on community-based prevention and response to hate and bias on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. The hearing examined progress in reducing hate crimes citywide (a 20% drop in 2025), persistent challenges including underreporting and spikes in certain communities, and the roles of three city offices: the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC), the Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism (MOCA), and the Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships (OFCP). Councilmembers present: Salaam, Mealy, Sanchez, and Wilson. Absent: Krishnan, Schulman, and Won.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Scott Richman (ADL New York/New Jersey): Reported that 2025 was the third highest year for antisemitic incidents since ADL began tracking, with New York state recording 1,160 incidents (nearly one in five nationwide), 74% within NYC. Urged the council to promote community-based education programs such as ADL's No Place for Hate initiative and to support educator training.
- Julio Cesar Herrera (Hispanic Federation): Described the PATH initiative, where Hispanic Federation serves as an anchor organization since 2021, reaching millions through culturally responsive anti-bias education. Noted that 78% of surveyed New Yorkers who experienced a hate crime never reported it. Urged sustained investment, warning that reduced funding would force subgrantees to scale back.
- Mo Olik (Sikh Coalition): Supported OPHC investments, emphasizing the need for better reporting pathways (especially for immigrants, workers, elders, and limited-English speakers), additional funding for community organizations, proactive relationship building, accurate anti-bias education, and rapid survivor support.
- Hillary Stutchin (UJA Federation of New York): Noted that Jewish institutions have operated at heightened vigilance since October 2023. Urged the city to invest the proposed $29 million for OPHC in effective programming, improve reporting systems with language access, invest in school-based prevention, and view educator preparedness as essential.
- Sophia Tobia Gage (CAIR New York): Reported a 130% national rise in hate crimes against Muslims between 2020 and 2025, with 64% of Muslims having experienced a hate crime or bias incident (only 4% reported to law enforcement). Noted that official NYPD data (43 anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2024) severely undercounts actual incidents. Urged the council to match the mayor's commitment and ensure resources reach community-based organizations.
- Madison Mounty (Simon Wiesenthal Center): Highlighted two initiatives: Combating Hate in Digital Spaces workshops for grades 7–12 (reaching thousands of NYC public school students) and Mobile Museums of Tolerance. Urged sustained city investment in mobile accessible education and digital literacy workshops.
- Marissa Barak (AJC New York): Noted that 56% of Jewish New Yorkers changed their behavior due to fear of antisemitism, and antisemitism fuels hate beyond extremists. Recommended strengthening government-community relationships, improving education on contemporary antisemitism, increasing coordination, and ensuring policymakers have information to respond.
- Leslie Claire Allen (New York City Anti-Violence Project): Emphasized the need for survivor support alongside prevention, citing a 24/7 crisis hotline and extensive waitlists for legal services for LGBTQ+ communities. Thanked the administration for increased funding and hoped city council would match it.
- Additional testimony was submitted in writing by several organizations.
Discussion Items
- OPHC Testimony (Executive Director Vijay Ramjatin): OPHC is now part of the Office of Community Safety, reflecting a priority on prevention. The administration increased OPHC funding by $26 million (an 800% increase, from $3M to $29M annually). Key programs: PATH (six anchor organizations, 60+ sub-vendors, 20+ languages, nearly 700 events, 62,000 participants in FY25); Unity in the Community 7 on 7 initiative on the 7 train corridor (six events completed, one culminating event planned); Youth Ambassador Leadership Program (YALP) launched October 2025 for ages 8–18; NYC Youth Moving Forward Against Hate program in schools. Reported 35% of students now know the difference between hate, bias, and discrimination post-survey. OPHC does not enforce but works preventively with NYPD data.
- MOCA Testimony (Executive Director Felisa Wisdom): Over 50% of reported hate crimes target Jewish community; nearly every visibly Jewish person has experienced an antisemitic incident. MOCA is conducting a listening tour across all five boroughs, developing the first municipal strategy to combat antisemitism (to be released end of summer). Currently has two staff, growing to three or four. Revitalized the interagency task force on antisemitism (previously met only once). MOCA focuses on prevention, policy, and programming—not enforcement. Clarified that the term “antisemitism” is historically specific to Jews, but all forms of hate are combated across city offices.
- OFCP Testimony (Executive Director Alia Teeth): OFCP is under the Office of Mass Engagement. Has three staff (plus executive director), hiring a fifth. Engages faith leaders broadly, hosted an interfaith breakfast with 400+ faith leaders, distributed 30,000 know-your-rights flyers, coordinated cooling centers, and conducted a listening tour. No dedicated website—public access via Office of Mass Engagement site.
- Councilmember Q&A:
- Chair Salaam asked about OPHC partnership selection, funding allocation (historically equal among six anchors), underserved areas (targeted Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan; expanding to all boroughs), youth program feedback, school incident responses, and tracking impacts. OPHC noted the interagency committee meets quarterly.
- Councilmember Mealy raised concerns about underrepresentation of African American Christian clergy and communities in PATH programming, questioned the 7 on 7 selection (only Roosevelt Avenue), and noted a lack of notification of hate crimes to her office. OPHC agreed to review notification lists and expand programming to all transit lines. Mealy also questioned how schools report bullying/hate incidents and suggested possible legislation to mandate reporting.
- Councilmember Wilson asked about LGBTQ+ hate prevention: OPHC highlighted work with Anti-Violence Project, Vos es Latina, seed grants (e.g., Bridging Cultures for anti-Islamophobic hate toward women), and the Unity Grants project with the Mayor's Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.
- Councilmember Sanchez inquired about successful programs for scaling (PATH and youth initiatives were priorities), responding to spikes (seed grants for specific communities), and OPHC staffing (currently three: executive director, deputy, senior programs manager; plans to add borough-based liaisons).
Key Outcomes
- The hearing was filed by the committee; no formal votes were taken.
- The administration proposed a historic $26 million increase (over 800%) for OPHC in the FY27 budget, which has not yet been finalized.
- MOCA committed to releasing the first municipal strategy to combat antisemitism by end of summer 2026.
- OPHC will work to improve hate crime notification to councilmembers and expand community project grant outreach, including to underserved areas like Brownsville and East New York.
- The committee received extensive public testimony urging sustained investment in community-based prevention, improved reporting systems, and expanded educational programming.
- Next steps include continued budget negotiations, monitoring of OPHC expansion, and potential legislation to mandate school reporting of hate incidents.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to today's New York City Council hearing for the Committee to Combat Hate. If you would like to testify, you must fill out a testimony slip with one of the sergeant at arms. You can also submit testimony at testimony at council.nyc.gov. At this time, please silence all electronic devices, as no one may approach a dais at any time during this hearing. Chair, we are ready to begin. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Youssef Salam, and I serve as the chair to the Committee on Camp to Combat Hate. I would like to first start off by thanking everyone for joining us here today. And I would also like to recognize my colleagues as they come into the role. None yet, but today's oversight hearing examines the role of community engagement in preventing and responding to hate and bias. New York City is one of the most diverse places on earth. That diversity is our greatest strength, and it is a source of great pride and unity for New Yorkers. Hate crimes strike at the very heart of this strength by seeking to divide, seeking to pit us against each other, as opposed to uniting one another. They target not just the individual, but all our communities, sending a message of fear and exclusion to all who share the victim's faith, the victim's race, the victim's gender identity, or the victim's background. That harm is immediate, but it can be it can reverberate throughout generations. At our last hearing, we examined some very concerning multi-year trends of increasing hate crime and bias. Yet in 2025, we also saw some encouraging trends. Last year, New York City recorded a 20% citywide reduction in hate crime complaints across the board compared to the prior year. This includes decreases across all four major categories of bias religion, race and ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, and of course, age. Much of this progress reflects sustained investments in prevention, in youth leadership, in community outreach, and in coordinated citywide action. We are here to learn more about this work and how it can be supported and expanded in the coming years. And at the same time, we must also take an honest look at where the fight against hate is falling short. Even in a year of overall progress, some communities still suffered spikes in hate bias violence. Buddhist communities, for example, saw a dramatic increase in reported hate crimes and anti-female crimes rose as well. These variations remind us that aggregate data can obscure real challenges and harms. We must ensure that no community is left behind, that no community is ignored. We also know that hate crimes are chronically underreported, not necessarily because of distrust in government, although that can be a part of it. Instead, many turn to their communities for trusted support when they have been the target of hate and bias. This is why it's crucial that we partner with community-based organizations to build trust, to encourage reporting, and to connect affected individuals and communities with the resources and support they need. Today we will hear from three offices whose work reflects this principle. The Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, the Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism, and the Mayor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships. I look forward to a thoughtful discussion surrounding these issues, as well as feedback and testimony from the administration and of course members of our public. I'll now like to pass it to our committee council to administer the oaths. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for being here. If you could raise your right hand, please and repeat after me. I re I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth before this committee. Thank you so much. You may begin. There it is. Good afternoon, Chair Salam, members of the committee to combat hate, and all members of the New York City Council. My name is Vijay Ramjatin, and I am the executive director for the New York City Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, also known as OPHC, which under Mayhem Dani's leadership is now proudly part of the city's uh new office to come uh for community safety. Before I begin, I want to thank Mia Mamdani, the deputy mayor of community safety, Renita Francois, and the Commissioner of the Office of Community Safety, Dr. Aisha Delani Bramsey for their bold vision and for making the prevention of hate a genuine priority of this administration. The decision to bring OPHC into the Office of Community Safety was not a routine reorganization. It was a clear statement of value. But preventing hate before it ever takes hold is not peripheral to public safety, but rather it is central to it. That commitment has finally given officers like ours the mandate, the partners, and the support to do the work at the scale our city deserves. For too long, hate prevention has often been treated as an afterthought, expected to solve growing challenges without the resources necessary to meet the moment. This administration has made a different choice.
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