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.

The Mamdani administration has made an unprecedented commitment to hate prevention by increasing funding to AP to OPHC by 26 million, an increase of more than 800%.

This historic investment recognizes that preventing hate is not simply about responding after incidents occur.

It is about building resilient communities where hate cannot take root in the first place.

For the first time, OPHC is being resourced at a scale that matches both the urgency of its mission and the diversity of the city it serves.

That investment will allow us to expand programming, deepen partnerships, reach more communities, hire more staff, and build a city prevention infrastructure.

It is an investment worthy of our city, the most diverse city in the world.

That diversity is one of our greatest strengths, but it also requires intentional investments to keep those bonds strong.

Investments in relationship building, investments in education, investments in community trust.

Today I would like to highlight how OPHC, with the backing of the Mamdani administration, fulfills its mission to prevent hate, strengthen communities, and foster belonging across our city.

No New Yorker should ever feel unsafe because of their identity, their beliefs, their appearances or background.

This administration had made that principle a foundation of its community safety agenda, and OPHC is proud to help carry it forward.

One of the primary ways we accomplish this work is through partners against the hate initiative or PATH.

BATH is a backbone of New York City's community-based prevent hate prevention infrastructure.

Through six anchor organizations and more than 40 sub-vendors, BATH provides culturally responsive programming in more than 20 languages and reaches communities across all five boroughs.

Because we believe hate prevention is not only about responding after harm occurs, PATH helps build resilient communities by creating opportunities for New Yorkers to connect, learn from one another, and recognize the common humanity that binds us all.

In fiscal year 2025 alone, through our PATH initiative and OPHC-led programming, we conducted nearly 700 events, engaged more than 62,000 participants across New York City, worked alongside over 240 partners, and in over 20 different languages.

These efforts include anti-hate education, victim support services, conflict de-escalation training, youth programming, and outreach of communities that have historically faced barriers to reporting hate incidents.

What makes PATH successful is that it is led by trusted organizations deeply rooted in the communities they serve.

These organizations are often the first places residents turn to for support, information, and healing after experiencing bias or hate.

Core Path partners, including the 67 Precinct Clergy Council, the Jewish Community Relations Council, JCRC, the New York Anti-Violence Project, the Arab American Association of New York, the Asian American Federation, and the Hispanic Federation work together to combat anti-Semitism, anti-LGBTQ plus hate, Islamophobia, anti-Asian hate, anti-Arab hate, anti-black racism, and other forms of bias while fostering inclusion, solidarity, and safety for all New Yorkers.

The impact extends beyond any single event.

When communities have trusted relationships, know where to seek help and feel connected to one another, they are better equipped to prevent conflicts from escalating, support victims when incidents occur, and build resilience against hate and bias.

Another way we accomplish this work is by bringing communities together through initiatives such as Unity in the Community 7 on 7.

This initiative emerged during a period of heightened concern along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens.

Public conversations about street vending, quality of life concerns, and changing conditions in the corridor were creating tension among residents and community groups, threatening to erode trust and deepen division.

Rather than allowing communities to retreat further into silos, OPHC chose to create spaces for dialogue and connection.

OPHC and its partners brought together diverse communities connected by the Seven Train Corridor.

7 on 7, that's the whole thing, including East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asian communities, Latino communities, LGBTQRA Plus communities, and of diverse other communities.

We partner with city agencies to bring resources directly to neighborhoods while creating opportunities for residents to share experiences, learn about one another, our culture, and identify common concerns.

The goal was simple to remind New Yorkers that what we have, that there is more in common that unites us than divide us.

The initiative demonstrated that the power of bringing communities together by creating opportunities for residents to connect, share experiences and build relationships, it helps strengthen trust, deepened understanding, and reinforce the sense of belonging that makes communities resilient.

These connections are the foundation of community cohesion, helping neighbors see one another not as strangers, but as partners in building a strong and more connected community.

Finally, as a critical part of our long-term prevention strategy is investing in young people through our youth ambassador leadership program or Yelp.

Launched in October 2025 and in partnership with New York City Public Schools, the Youth Ambassador Leadership Program or YALP empowers young people between the ages of 8 and 18 to become ambassadors of inclusion, respect, and belonging.

The program brings together youths, parents, educators, mentors, and city leaders from across all five boroughs.

Participants receive training in leadership development, civic engagement, public speaking, community organizing, and restorative practices.

What makes YAL particularly powerful is that young people are not simply learning about leadership.

They are practicing it.

Participants in the program return to their schools and communities to lead projects, facilitate discussions in their schools and communities, and serve as a positive role model for their peers.

At a time when young many young people are exposed to misinformation, division, and online hate, YALL provides an opportunity to equip the next generation with the tools necessary to build stronger, more inclusive communities.

The young people we engage today will become the community leaders, educators, public servants, business owners, and parents of tomorrow.

By teaching empathy, leadership, civic engagement, and respect for differences.

Now we are investing in the long-term prevention of hate and bias before it takes root.

All told, our programming at OPHC, which includes inter-faith engagement, youth art projects, community dialogues, anti-hate education, and victim support services help build trust, strengthen relationships across communities, support victims, and create opportunities for New Yorkers to engage across differences before conflicts occurs.

As part of the Office of Community Safety, and with the support of Mayhem Amdani, Deputy Mayor Francois and the newly appointed OCS Commissioner, Dr.

Aisha Delaney Bramsi, OPHC is working closely with our partner with partner offices to strengthen coordination, share data and best practices, and identify new opportunities to advance community safety.

Together, we are helping shape a coordinated approach to prevention that recognizes the importance, the important role community engagement, education, and relationship building play in keeping New Yorkers safe.

Mayhem Mdani's historic investment in OPHC will allow us to expand and enhance our work.

We are exploring ways to deepen engagement within emerging communities, strengthen community-based hate prevention efforts, broaden access to cultural responsive programming, and build upon successful initiatives such as the PATH program, the Yalp program, and community project grants.

Finally, I want to emphasize that preventing hate is not the responsibility of any one agency.

It requires collaboration across government, schools, faith communities, nonprofit organizations, community leaders, and everyday New Yorkers.

We are fortunate to do this work under an administration that shares that belief and has backed it with real attention and investment.

OPHC is proud to serve as a convener and connector in that work.

Every day we witness communities choosing understanding over division, dialogue over conflict, and unity over hate.

Those moments may not always make headlines, but they are the foundation of a safer and stronger New York City.

Under Mayhem Amdani's leadership, we have a true opportunity to build a city where belonging is strengthened.

Communities are connected, and neighbors see one another as partners in a shared future.

By investing in prevention, we can address the conditions that allow hate to take root and create communities that are more resilient, inclusive, and safe.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support.

I look forward to answering any questions you may have.

Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony.

I'd like to recognize that we've been joined by Councilmember Dolly Meal.

Thank you, Chair Salam, and all esteemed members of the Committee to Combat Hate.

My name is Felisa Wisdom, and I'm the executive director of the Mayor's Office to Combat Anti-Semitism.

The Mamdani administration is deeply grateful to all of you for the work that you do, both in this committee and outside of it, to ensure that our city remains safe and welcoming for every single New Yorker, regardless of their background.

Our city is in a delicate moment, even amidst the joy that so many of us have felt this summer.

While hate crimes as a whole are on the decline, we see a distressing trend of rising hate crimes targeting the Jewish community, making up over 50% of the sum total.

The mayor's office to combat anti-Semitism is in the midst of a listening tour with members of the Jewish community across all five boroughs.

While we've heard universal appreciation for the diversity of this city and its rich Jewish culture, we've also heard some distressing anecdotes.

Nearly every single visibly Jewish person we've spoken to, for example, someone who wears a kipa or other religious garment, has said that they've personally been the victim of an anti-Semitic incident.

These incidents have left entire communities shaken, afraid to proudly do what they've done for years, to simply be who they are in the greatest city in the world.

Other New Yorkers who wear religious garments understand this fear.

Whether or not these rise to the level of crimes, they represent a tear in the fabric of our city.

It's wrong, it's unacceptable, and it's something that my office, in collaboration with the NYPD, OPHC, City Commission on Human Rights, and the Office of Mass Engagement, and many other offices, up to and including the mayor himself, is working day in and day out to chip away at.

When this administration entered City Hall, the Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism was a six-month-old office consisting of a single employee.

The work was not yet designed to stand the test of time beyond any one administration.

The mayor and our team have set out to remedy that.

This office will be equipped to advance meaningful and proactive policy, programming, and messaging, with a goal to stand the test of time.

We've revitalized this office's interagency work, meeting individually with nearly every single member of the interagency task force to combat anti-Semitism, while also convening an initial group meeting to discuss how antisemitism arises in the contexts of various agencies.

Previously, this task force had a single meeting, and members are enthusiastic about working together in pursuit of our shared goals.

We maintain strong, consistent open lines of communication with NYPD, OPHC, CCHR, and Office of Mass Engagement, and other relevant agencies.

We've also served as a facilitator for conversations on these issues with a variety of agencies.

Our office has developed and retained close relationships with clergy, organizations, and other community leaders to understand how anti-Semitism impacts their day-to-day work and the New Yorkers they serve.

Moreover, our office, along with the Office of Mass Engagement, plays a critical role in constituent services, ensuring that Jewish communities around New York City are able to access functions of government while also ensuring cultural competency across agencies.

Our office seeks to combat anti-Semitism with a robust whole of government approach, with education on the front end and enforcement on the back end.

As I mentioned in the beginning of my testimony, our office is deep in the throes of our listening tour, having met with scores of Jewish New Yorkers from across the religious and political spectrum.

We are using these sessions in part to develop what may be the first municipal strategy to combat anti-Semitism in the United States.

We're tracking to have this released by the end of the summer.

Any New Yorker who's interested in joining a listening session or otherwise connecting with our office can reach out via the contact form on our website, which is at New YorkCity.gov, combat anti-Semitism.

On this note, the administration strongly believes that government should be accessible.

Under the previous iteration of this office, there was not a website or way to contact the office unless you had an existing connection.

Therefore, it was a priority for us to develop a website where New Yorkers could get in touch with us while also demonstrating details of some of the day-to-day work of our office.

The website will continue to be updated over the coming months and years, and we look forward to further developing and formalizing all of our communications practices.

Finally, I'd be remiss if I did not mention what my colleague just mentioned, which is one of the most exciting priorities and accomplishments of the Mamdani administration thus far, the massive influx of funding into OPHC.

OPHE's funding has dramatically increased under this administration from 3 million annually to 29 million annually, an increase of eight hundred and eighty six percent we are in close communication with OPHC and the Office of Community Safety Broadly regarding how to best use this increased funding to meaningfully combat anti-Semitism alongside our administration's work to combat all other forms of hate.

Thank you again for inviting my colleagues and I to testify before this critical committee.

I look forward to answering your questions and continuing our shared work over the coming years.

Thank you for your testimony.

All right I'm going to first um thank you for your testimony I'd like to acknowledge as well that we have been joined by Councilmember Carl Wilson.

And I'm going to start with some questions starting with the Office of the Prevention of Hate Crimes.

OPHC prides itself on its work with community partners could you speak to some of the long-term longstanding partnerships that you have and this and the selection process for these partnerships.

Yeah thank you so much.

OPHC's path program is the vehicle where we work with over sixty plus organizations but we have six major anchor organizations who we work with directly and then they have sub vendors under each of their portfolios namely we have the God squad 67 push and closure council JCRC Jewish Council relations we have the Arab American Association of New York we have the Hispanic Federation the New York City Antiviolence Project and we have the Hispanic Federation and Asian American Federation if I missed that one.

Those are the six anchor organizations that we work with since the inception of this office in twenty nineteen those groups were identified as the broader groups to who can take the load of amplifying this work but also to bring this work on a grassroots level across New York City diverse communities and they have the bandwidth to do so citywide across the five boroughs.

Thank you.

You're welcome how does OPHC allocate funds to organizations that it works with and are there some neighbors are there some neighborhood are there some neighborhoods or community prioritized when it comes to funding and if so what is that prioritization based on yes so before my time in the office in 2019 when this office was founded those were organizations that were selected to be part of this programming.

After coming into this role I realized that I noticed the great work they were doing and also to the diversity of portfolios that they have under each of the organizations the way we allocate the funding is historically each organization received the same amount of funding across the three million dollars and then they subvent to vendors across New York City to reach most our neighborhoods of course with the prior funding we could not reach every single community that's why we welcome the this administration's uh expanded funding by by eight hundred percent to make sure that we are going to meet most of communities in New York City going forward in fiscal year 2025 OPHC worked towards reaching communities that are typically underserved by prevention services for example, through the PATH program in 2025, OPHC reported engaging with five grassroots organizations in underserved areas of Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Which areas in Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan were targeted?

How does OPHC determine whether an area is underserved?

And are there plans to target areas in Staten Island and the Bronx?

So I'm happy to report that we do have programming in all five boroughs across New York City.

So aside from the PATH program, OPSC has what's called in partnership with the City Commission of Human Rights, we have a program called the Community Project Grants that we sought to up uh to fund 10 organizations across New York City or individuals, anyone 14 years old or older, with $10,000 each year to meet those needs that you mentioned before, the pockets that we feel like is missing out in the community grassroots work, but also to if we see an escalation just this year, this past two months, we work with a group called Central Queens Against Hate because of the rise in hate crimes in Queens, specifically in the Forest Sales area, Riga Park, uh area, Q Gardens area, and we pivot and to make sure we give out seed grants as well.

So this past year and in 2025, we funded approximately uh 12 different uh seed grant opportunities, and this year we gave out 14 uh seed grants to different community members across the city to meet the needs as hate crimes happen.

And can you tell us more about the Roosevelt Island uh 707 series and any initial feedback that you've received from the communities that are being served and has this part this project concluded or is engagement with these communities ongoing?

And are there plans to replicate 707, the 707 model by working with any other transit corridors or by replicating any other successful aspects of this particular series?

Yeah, thank you.

I'm very proud of the 707 program, and the name is catchy, right?

707.

So we want to do five on the ones and ten on the A's, and you know, one of the strengths of New York City is its diversity.

I think if you go into any train cart in New York City, you will find the wealth of New York City's diversity on any card.

Sadly, no one speaks to each other.

So we have used the veins of the natural uh existing subway lines and bus routes to use those as connectors of communities, but more or less more so to highlight that diversity, but also to bring those teams together.

The 707 project came about in a time when we saw heightened uh community disharmony along Roosevelt Avenue and different communities, you know, blaming each other for the street vending or whatever activities were happening.

So we saw this as an opportunity to bring these communities together.

But more importantly, we wanted to bring communities who belong to one part of the world in one of the same room to build unity within that community.

For example, we brought together 12 South A Southeast Asian communities in one room.

We brought together six different nations uh in one room for the East Asia.

We brought together almost like 10 different countries, people for the Southeast for the South Asia community uh breaking bread building bond initiative.

These programs bring these communities together first and foremost to build belonging, to say here we see you, we appreciate you, and we value you and all you bring to New York City.

This program is ongoing.

We have completed six of the seven uh seven on seven, six of them, and the final one is gonna be where we bring all the communities together in one culminating one and say we are one Roosevelt Avenue.

We have heard positive things about this program in the sense where communities felt seen, they felt respected, they felt heard, and more importantly, city government as a whole is coming to their doors where we are bringing resources and saying, hey, how can we serve you?

How can we make sure you feel seen, heard, and respected exactly as you are?

This is one of the priorities of this administration to make sure every New York City, and again, I'm thankful and I'm grateful for the Mayhem Dani's expansion by 800% in our office to make sure we can expand this program, of course, with staff as well, to every borough.

So we have five of these sessions happening all the time across the five boroughs.

Staten Island only has one train, but we'll find other routes as well.

Gotcha.

OPHC emphasizes the importance of working with our city's youth as key components in hate prevention.

Which of your youth-based initiatives have seen particular success, and what do you attribute that to?

In addition to that, what feedback have you received from the youth from the young people that participate in your programs and at the events?

And how is this feedback incorporated into future planning?

Thank you for that.

So we have a young lady, her name is Zoe, and we had gone, so we started a program called NYC Youth Moving Forward Against Hate.

This initiative started in 20 in 2025, in January of 2025.

When I came into this role, at that time we saw a lot of college campuses experiencing heightened, you know, hate and bias and discrimination.

And my thought was that at some point these college campus students were youths.

And I truly believe that the first time a child or a person knows what a hate crime is is not when they commit one or when one is committed towards them.

They should know what the difference between bias, discrimination, hate is, and more importantly, they should know that there are consequences for these actions.

But more, but also to build unity and alliance among these students at a very tender age.

So the NYC Youth Moving Forward Against Hate program, we are in schools.

And it was groundbreaking because before people said it couldn't be done because parents will rally against it, and we found a way to work with principals and school districts to say, how can we come to your schools and speak to the fourth and fifth graders so they leave with knowledge going to the middle school about hate, bias, and discrimination?

How can we speak to uh elementary students in the seventh and eighth grade and high school students and at the 11th and 12th grade and expand this programming also to colleges?

And I'm proud to say we have worked with City College, City Tech in Brooklyn to also bring this knowledge there too.

And what we're doing, we're talking about hate, bias, discrimination, the difference between these things, how to recognize it, but more importantly, how we can build allyship.

How can we appreciate the differences in our classrooms?

And what we have seen at this point is more than 35% of our students, and we do a pre and a post survey to these programming, and we leave each student with one of these brochures that we have printed out that we've made.

We have an elementary school brochure, we have a high school brochure, we had a middle school brochure and an adult version.

And at the back of these brochures, there's a part to sign that says, I pledge to help create a community where everyone is safe and accepted.

And I pledge to defend my peers if they are being treated uh unfairly based on who they are, and I pledge to help New York City move forward against hate.

And each student gets one of these to sign, and they make an informal pledge like we pledge to you to tell the truth.

And they say they're gonna be a part of me to uh solve hate crimes.

The point is this: this work cannot be done for my office sitting where I am.

It has to be done on every single level on the grassroots level, at the schools, at the mosques, at the synagogues, on the streets, at the bars, wherever we can go, we go.

And we ask each student to sign this portfolio, this is flyer and keep it with them.

Lastly, I'll say that we've seen over 35% of students report post-survey that they now know the difference between hate, bias, and discrimination.

More than 18% of them now know the difference between those three, what resources their school have, and more than 20% of them know now they can get in trouble if they continue to do hate, bias, and discrimination.

That's really, really excellent.

Young people are often unfortunately exposed to hate right in their very own schools.

One of the places that they should feel the safest.

So my question is how does OPHC track the impacts of its work in schools, whether it be bullying, hateful graffiti, property damage, or hate-motivated violence?

Um, has any schools reported improvements as a result of the OPHC programming that has been conducted?

And also, has OPHC ever been contacted for guidance or education specifically in response to an incident at a school?

Yeah, thank you for that question.

So again, OPSC's work is not enforcement in nature, we are preventative.

So we don't want anyone calling NYPD hate crimes task force in the first place.

But we do get our reports from the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force, who gives us a report quarterly, monthly, as I ask them to let me know which schools you are seeing in increased reported bias incidents happening on their premises.

And then we reach out to those schools and we say, hey, here's what we do, here what we can do and help you to do this programming, and we go to the schools and we meet them.

Um, this program has been successful as we have received a lot of incoming requests to go to the schools.

We have also gone beyond the New York City Public Schools.

This past year.

We went to the largest imam trading school in Hillside Avenue, where we educated all the students who were part of that uh that school over there.

So we go beyond the New York City Public Schools anywhere students are learning.

We want to be also teaching about hate, bias, and discrimination.

The good thing is that, listen, as I as I'm gonna mention it again, I am super excited about the administration's investment in our office, because while these are all programs we tested out to see if they're working and what the impact is, now we have the real backing.

We have the real funding and the commitment from this administration to make sure we expand this uh success across the city.

Thank you for that.

I want to move towards the mayor's office to combating anti-Semitism.

Could you provide what combating anti-Semitism covers?

Sure, thank you for that question.

Um, so like my colleague, my office is not an enforcement office, but rather focused by executive order on prevention policy and programming to prevent anti-Semitic incidents and also um increase social cohesion across groups.

As a diverse city, um I'm I'm concerned about anti-Semitic people writ large, and of course, Arabs are ethnically ethnically Semitic, Arabs and even Aramaic are Semitics and you know, these are Semitic languages, of course, and what we've seen is that um Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all born in the Semitic region.

Considering that scholarly studies have shown that hate against Muslims are often categorized under race-based bias.

We do not know the true numbers of anti-Muslim hate.

On top of that, anti-Muslim hate are often not reported due to the 9-11 related fear.

In parallel, Arabs are often ethno-linguistically or an ethnolinguistic group.

What I find interesting is that considering the rise in hatred against Arabs, Muslims, and Jews, despite underreporting of such incidents, specifically with regards to the Arabs and Muslims, they continue to be miscategorized and thrown into a bucket of broader-based hate-based incidents instead of being considered equally as anti-Semitic, anti-Semitism, despite being a Semitic of origin.

Can we expect that MOCA will incorporate these groups under the umbrella of anti-Semitism and then subcategorize them based on what origin, such as anti-Semitism against Jews, anti-Semitism against Muslims, and anti-Semitism, anti-Semitism?

A little bit of a tongue twister, uh, against Arabs, etc.

So I agree with you that that there are lots of forms of hate that are scary and rising and should and and deserve an enormous amount of attention from our city government.

Anti-Semitism is widely understood across countries and um academic contexts to be prejudice, hatred, and violence against Jews because they're Jewish.

I understand what you're saying about Semitic and what that word means, but the term anti-Semitism is widely understood to be against Jewish people because they are Jewish.

So, in terms of how this administration combats the serious crises of anti-Arab and Islamophobic hate and bias incidents, that is across other agencies.

This agency, this office is focused on anti-Semitism and the safety and thriving of the Jewish community and across all of our offices and and across City Hall, there is certainly focus on those other communities, but I would, I guess, to refer those questions to my colleagues who work on a broader um hate and bias portfolio.

No, I definitely appreciate that.

I think that especially in a place like New York City, the most diverse place in the world, there definitely is an opportunity for us to be able to pull that reality into the broader um meaning of anti-Semitism.

Because of course, those folks who are here are saying to themselves, Hold on, I'm of Semitic origin as well.

I speak Semitic languages.

How come I'm not included?

And I think that to exclude them causes greater division, right?

Especially when we want to be able to, you know, I'm looking at what's going on around the world, and the fact that countries have been able to begin tolerance I don't want to say experien experiments but they've been doing tolerance exercises and it's been really really great and I think America specifically New York City has an opportunity to really be a leader in that particular space.

Thank you and I have colleagues in the room who I'm sure will will talk um when it's time or not colleagues community organizations so I'm sure we'll talk about the definitions of those terms when it comes time for public testimony.

The Mamdani administration does understand the term anti-Semitism to be um related particularly to the Jewish community but also sees a responsibility to combat all forms of hate in solidarity with each other no no form of hate privileged above another when it comes to the focus and investment as you heard 26 million additional dollars to the Office for prevention of hate crimes which is charged with prevention and combating hate across all identities in New York City and we're we're very excited to be partnering with them and with the Office of Faith Partnerships, NYPD, CCHR, anyone who has a a very broad purview and portfolio to combat hate and that work um is ongoing and taken very seriously.

Well I can say this um as the chair to the committee to combat hate I do know that initially when we first started our hearings um the overwhelming sentiment was this was specifically only going to be talking about anti-Semitism as been understood by the broader definition of anti-Jewish um hate and of course you know as the chair I'm supremely aware of my rev my responsibility and also being able to have the melting pot that kaleidoscope of the human family really being represented here especially in city council um so maybe there's a more more to uh do and and more to include as well um how many people are currently on staff at the mayor's office to combat anti-Semitism currently there are two staff members and we depending on the outcomes of the executive budget will grow to three or four given that religion based hate crimes generally and anti-Semitic anti-Semitic hate crimes specifically are consistently among the most reported hate crimes are there currently any plans to expand mocha um mocha is experiencing expansion of three to four hundred percent from the previous administration so yes we are we are expanding.

And we've heard from some of our constituents um okay gotcha could you tell us about Mocha's outreach and community engagement efforts what does Mocha on the ground work look like and do your partner do you partner with any community based organizations and are there any efforts being made towards interfaith cooperation and engagement?

Thank you for the question so to the last part yes they're interfaith um we believe strongly in the Mamdani administration that combating hate is a group project and while each form of hate Islamophobia, homophobia, anti-Semitism is unique um the that we are all impacted by hate in our city and need to be thinking about combating hate um across all identities.

In terms of community organizations, as you heard in my testimony this office is really very new so in terms of the norms of our day-to-day work we're building those right now and the first order of business is a listening tour where we're talking with Jewish New Yorkers and people who work in the space to combat anti-Semitism across religio the religious and political spectrum across all five boroughs to understand the work that they do, what the people that they serve are experiencing, and then we'll make um a first round of recommendations in our report coming out at the end of the summer, and we'll continue to iterate on that report year upon year.

New York City is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.

And Jewish New Yorkers are not just one community, but many.

What kind of work is Mocha doing in relation to increasing dialogue and understanding amongst the different Jewish communities inside of New York City itself.

Thank you for that question.

It's true that there is both the work to increase group understanding, intergroup understanding between groups as well as in the moment we find ourselves.

The Jewish community is quite divided, and there is work to be done to increase cohesion among the Jewish community.

The role of the mayor's office to combat anti-semitism in that work as opposed to communal organizations who do communal work is to ensure that every single group has a seat at the table and has a relationship with the administration and their voices heard and their experiences as Jews are seen as legitimate and taken seriously.

Just a follow-up, has MOCA done any work in the restorative justice space and how much does MOCA focus on education as a tool for rehabilitation?

MOCA thus far hasn't.

Again, previously, you know, we were sort of picking up a very new office and looking at what that work will look like throughout the administration.

I know that our colleagues are in OPHC in particular, but also the entire administration, New York City Public Schools, other agencies are thinking thinking very seriously about how to infuse restorative justice practices in their work, and we will support them in that.

Can you describe for us in more detail about how Mocha collaborates with other offices or agencies?

What portion of MOCA's work focuses on interagency collaboration and coordination versus direct engagement with the communities?

So one of the things that we are tasked with doing by executive order is to convene an interagency task force on anti-Semitism.

So that task force, which we have picked up, again, it had previously met once, so there wasn't an enormous set of norms to follow through with, but we are meeting with representatives from each agency and ensuring that there is a feeling of a cohesive working group on this topic that is regularly meeting, sharing best practices with each other, and infusing this work into the rest of the work the agency is doing to combat hate of all forms.

Mocha is a relatively new office.

Are there any startup challenges or questions you are still facing?

Thank you for that question.

I think in a new administration in general, we're we're all figuring out what our offices look like in this admin.

This office in particular, as you noted, is just over a year old.

And so we're really building its work in some ways from scratch, recommend taking the report that was left for us before, um, but really billing up policies and practices that make sense within the Mamdani administration.

So I don't think we're seeing it as a challenge.

I think we're seeing it as an opportunity to be really thoughtful and deliberate about what kinds of policies and programs and budget allocations would best serve our diverse communities, and I think after year one, when we've been through a budget and we are fully staffed, we'll just continue to see this work grow and iterate.

Absolutely.

I want to move towards the mayor's office of faith-based and community partnerships.

The mayor's office of faith-based and community partnerships was established in 2022 by the provincial by the previous administration with the purpose of connecting city agencies with faith communities throughout New York City.

However, there is little public information about your work.

And it was recently taken down.

And how does the OFCP currently engage with communities without having a public website?

Thank you so much, Chair Salam, and thank you for the entire community for allowing me to participate on this panel of my colleagues.

My name is Alia Teeth and I'm the executive director at the Office of Faith-Based Partnerships, and thank you for that question.

The Office of Faith Based Partnerships is under the auspice of the Office of Mass Engagement, and so every New Yorker can get in contact with our office through the Office of Mass Engagement's website.

OFCP generally works to support policies and programs related to social welfare, public safety, and community engagement.

Could you give us some examples of such policies and programs and the groups OFCP has worked to support?

Thank you for that question.

We work very closely with local congregations, nonprofits across the five boroughs.

We have the capacity to liaise with all communities across ideological spectrums.

It's really important to us that everyone has access to government and that there's proper follow-up.

So we are big tent and welcome anyone who might want to work with us or who need services.

So we have a policy of come as you are and we will meet our communities where they're at.

Specifically in terms of programs and partnerships, we want to integrate faith partnerships in every aspect of OMI, as well as this administration.

So to that end, we've worked closely with the mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs to give out more than 30,000 know your rights flyers on how to protect yourself during interactions with federal agents at our first event, which was our interfaith breakfast, attended by more than 400 faith leaders.

We hosted an information session with faith leaders from 2K child care districts with the Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education to seek their partnership in helping connect families to free highly quality early childhood education opportunities in their communities, in collaboration with the Interfaith Center of New York and Union Theological Seminary.

We coordinated a preliminary briefing on the city's racial equity plan with the mayor's Office of Equity and Racial Justice for faith leaders to give their input on that plan.

We shared New York City Emergency Management's request to hundreds of houses of worship to consider serving as cooling centers in moments of heating emergencies.

We have hosted roundtables and meetings with faith partners as part of a listening tour to better understand their issues as well.

Some anti-religious biases are not from other religious groups, but rather from non-religious communities that have a negative view on one religion or just religion broadly.

Nearly a third of New Yorkers do not affiliate with any religion.

Does OFCP engage with or have any plans to engage with unaffiliated New Yorkers to promote interfaith understanding?

Thank you so much for that question.

We define uh faith leaders broadly.

There are individuals who we are engaging with across ideological spectrums who may be unaffiliated with a house of worship but still identify and leverage their faith-based values for social good.

We welcome all and everyone who wants to partner with us.

And lastly, are there any special projects on the horizon for OFCP?

Yeah, thank you so much for that question as well.

As I mentioned, we're currently on a listening tour.

We want to make sure that decisions about community include community.

We have gone across the city visiting houses of worship and faith leaders, and we look forward to those partnerships.

Actually, that was second to last.

Uh, this is the last part.

Okay.

Have there been any changes to your office's structure since the start of the current administration?

And how many dedicated staff does OFCP have?

Are you currently hiring?

And do you feel your resources are adequate in order to successfully complete your goals?

Thank you so much for those um questions.

I hope I asked all of them, and if I don't, please let me know.

Um, we currently have three staff members, um, four including myself.

We are looking to have a fourth um in the summer, and we are actively hiring for a fifth.

Um, could you ask the follow-up question?

Oh, yes.

Well, you did say you were currently, I guess, currently hiring, so that's that's probably a yes.

Uh, do you feel your resources are adequate in order to successfully complete your goals?

Yes, we are really excited to be part of the office of mass engagement.

Um, the office is incredibly committed to faith partnerships.

Um, this office is something that the the mayor has prioritized, and as the executive director of this office, I'm dedicated to make sure that um faith partnerships is part of every aspect of this mayoralty.

Thank you.

I'm gonna pass it to my colleagues for their questions, if you have any.

I'm gonna start with Darlene.

Yes.

Thank you.

I'm glad that we have the um this committee because so many so many things are going on right now.

But what is very alarming to me, um, could you explain?

Do you think um Christians do not get um harassed?

Faith-based Christians, we have bishops that say they anti-this, anti-that, and on Facebook they get harassed.

Um, and I haven't heard anything about African American Christians um dealing with hate crime also.

Could anyone explain that to me?

Where do the African American clergy fit into this hate crime?

Because Catholics get so I I hear everything else.

I just want to make sure that we put in that faith base in this scenario.

And strong, don't everybody answer at one time.

Sure, I can, and I would like to if you could please give to the council members one of these books.

I'd appreciate this.

This has a report that has a very uh deep description of all our programmings and our partners that we work with.

One of the partners that we work with is specifically the 67th Precinct Clergy Council that is based in Brooklyn, New York, and they work with the clergy specifically, and a lot of programs in Brooklyn where they amplify programming in the communities and with faith-based partnerships as well.

Our office also has what's called the inter-faith council on words and of symbols of peace and hate, where we have diverse faith leaders in that space where we work with them specifically to provide programming and we give seed grants to these anyone who comes to us and say, Hey, we were experiencing bias description of our church out in our faith, and we give them programming funding to do that to those in the world.

Do you not cover 67%?

Pardon me?

God squad, but that's in Crown Heights, East Flatbush.

I have a big part of Bedfords in Brownsville, East New York, Ocean Hill.

Half of those programs do not come into that area.

God squad don't really talk to the pastors there.

They have one or two meetings, and that's it.

So I hope going forward, I definitely want to know where these six programs come from.

You said 67th, and where is the one in the middle?

East Flatbush, no ABC, no.

What is your six anchor organizations?

So we have the uh COD Squad, the 67th Culture Council, we have Asian American Federation, we have Arab American Association of New York, we have the Hispanic Federation, the Anti-Violence Project, yeah.

Which and JCRC.

Okay.

Which one of them are in like Bedford Staverson?

So of the 51 council districts in the city, we are in half of them across the city.

We are in half of them across the city, and we have a lot of our programs in Brooklyn.

Um, Canarsi, yeah, they really do canarse um Bushwick, that's what you're saying.

Yeah, so they're the anchor partners.

I have one more question.

And then they have sub-vendors, right?

So they have different, like six sub-vendors that are citywide.

So while they may be based in Brooklyn, the programming takes place across the city, and the same is true for all the other organizations as well.

The programming takes place across the city on all five boroughs, regardless of where they're based in.

We the our requests for each of these organizations organizations is to make sure the programming is not only centered in the community, but also make sure that diversity is within the portfolio as well.

So I would love to uh really get into this because somehow another it's not being crossed the board, and we cannot leave anyone out.

And one thing I wanted to ask you about was um your program with um under local law 49 of 2020, OPHC is also required required to create a hate crime notification system which notifies the community boards, community-based organization and elected officials of violent hate crimes in their area.

How often do you use that?

Because I know only time I found out about a hate crime in my community, that's if the precinct texts me.

So what outlet do y'all have that y'all give to the community board, then it trickle down to the com um elected officials and community-based organizations?

Yes, thank you for that question.

Instead of the web page, for sure.

So we, whenever we receive notifications from NYPD that a hate crime has happened, we then go ahead and within 24 hours of receiving that notification, we send out a notification to all the groups you just mentioned there.

We'll triple check and double check to make sure that you're on that list to make sure you get those notifications.

Um, and also to if there's anyone else you want to let us know to include, we will be happy to include them in that list.

But I'm just saying, if you say y'all do this, it should automatically come to our city council emails.

Sure or not.

It's supposed to be coming there, and it should be.

So I will triple check to make sure that it is.

Please ensure that you're added.

Can I just ask one more question?

This, please, chair.

I gotta ask.

Okay.

Um can you explain to me the seven on seven series?

Um, initial feedback.

You say it's seven on seven is closest to um the train stations.

How did you pick these seven on seven?

Uh, just Roosevelt Island, um, different, why not other locations?

Do you think um the two of the three train does not?

Do you think the A or the C train does not have hate crimes?

Or you just feel it was more in Roosevelt Island, because I had on Eastern Parkway, four to five.

Vendors was everywhere.

The community was mad, the vendors was mad, everyone trying to make money.

So, why wasn't considered the four to five line?

Yeah, um, thank you for that question.

You know, I want to just highlight two things.

Within capacity, we can only do what we can.

Now that we increase funding come to the office, our goal is to, and this administration has made it very clear that the investment that they can give to us is gonna expand these programs that have been working across the city.

We piloted that program last year to get feedback to learn what works, what does not work, and specifically Roosevelt Avenue, because we've seen a heightened uh sense of community division within that community.

Um, our path program partners do work across New York City already.

So now that this program has been successful, we do have intentions to exactly follow the whole of the four train, the whole of the five train and go through each of the lines.

So the three train two, three, five, A, one, C, E, all of them.

Uh Z, we're gonna be doing all of them over time.

J and the M.

J and the M.

And the hate crimes we have over there on that line, that should have been the first one.

And you'll be happy to know this, and bus lines too.

So, because we know Queens don't have any training, so we're gonna do the bus lines as well.

The point is this we're gonna use a natural lines that's already created where people connect to bring them even more close in the room, but also to bring that diversity in one room and say, hey, we are all New Yorkers.

Please remember that.

Um, so I would definitely be looking forward to it because um so many different hate crimes, and I don't know how it was just picked for Queens in Brooklyn.

It's like the epic center.

So I look forward to making sure I get those notices.

And I'll schedule a meeting with your office to make sure we can learn and hear more about you and tell you about the work that we're doing as well.

Thank you.

And how will we find out who got those C grants?

So C so let me just discuss two things.

The community project grants, they're their applications go out every year.

So we have uh everyone said this past year we had applications increased by 300% from the previous year.

Now that we should name one, for example, in Red Stein, Brownsville, anywhere in Julia Keto, the new the Red Lotus, we have Christina Blacken, these are all uh African American individuals who live in Brooklyn.

New organizations too.

New organizations because the idea is innovative.

Don't forget the old for the new, also.

Absolutely not.

So anyone applies.

I mean, we'll meet, we'll talk more, and we want to expand these programs to make sure that we are giving every New Yorker who have an idea and opportunity to be part of the solution.

Thank you.

I will be part of that.

Thank you, Chair, for extending that time.

Oh no, my pleasure.

I think that this is important too, because oftentimes uh what we've been finding, I think this is probably throughout all of our districts, is that there's been a little bit of a um mystification of how to get through the process.

Um, and so we want to make sure that those organizations that have been doing the work without being funded, um, at least get the education that allows them to be able to apply and participate with regards to the city funding.

Uh I mean I'll add really quickly that just by the mere fact that after the first year we had a 600% increase in applications, that means that we're making sure that every New Yorker, we meet everywhere knows how to apply for these grants, and our office takes an extra role to make sure we educate even those who don't know how to apply.

We have info sessions say here are the how to break down the red tape and how you can apply for these seed grants, and also the community project grants, so it's ongoing every year.

Thank you.

Councilman Bukar.

Thank you, Chair.

Um, I have a couple of questions also for the um Office of Prevention of Hate Crimes.

Um Thank you for the report.

I I look forward to to digging into that a bit more.

But if you uh wouldn't mind just elaborating, you spoke uh in your testimony about uh efforts in the LGBTQ community.

I'm wondering if you could elaborate a little bit more specifically about what efforts are being made to combat hate in that community specifically.

Yeah, thank you for that question.

And um the LGBTQ IA plus community, we know have historically been the group who has always faced hate crime.

While we've seen hate crime for other groups fluctuate based on geopolitical activities, etc.

One crime that we have seen consistently over time as the second most high highest reported hate crimes, anti-male homosexual hate crimes.

But we also know uh council member that not all hate crimes are reported.

So we have to go places where we think they're happening, but also too, I always say part of my job, 99% of my job is to listen to the community.

And we work very closely with the anti-violence project of New York City.

Uh the they call AVP, and they have been doing incredible work working with partners across the New York City like Catan Lord and various under uh various other community uh groups to make sure that we are educating New Yorkers about the needs, the likes, dislikes of this community, but also to resources.

Um hate prevention is not only standing up and saying we stand with you, but also care.

Being there to show care and to provide the resources that these New Yorkers feel seen, heard, and supported as well.

Additional to the PATH program that we have these different partners, we also work closely by giving out seed grants to a different bunch, a bunch of different community partners to make sure that we are making sure that the LGBT community at the as at the forefront.

Part of the seven on seven initiative when we do the LGBTQIA plus community, we highlighted the trans community because we know Erasia has been at the forefront recently.

So we this program was centered in Roosevelt Avenue, exactly where a lot of profiling was happening towards the LGBTQIA plus community on Roosevelt Avenue.

We have a lot of programming in Manhattan right now for the Pride Parade, Pride programs, and we are gonna be in amplifying that again with the new funding coming in.

This mayor's commitment to prevention has been very clear and he has made it very clear over and over that not by words but by action and saying we're gonna invest in in 800% increase in your office to ensure that we can serve many more partners across New York City.

You said you have to go where you think they're happening, and you mentioned I think Roosevelt Island example just there.

How are you figuring out where they're happening?

Is that data driven?

Are there, well, is it by data reporting or just anecdotally you're you're hearing of it, or how does that work?

Right.

So the fact that we know let's underscore that question by saying not all hate crimes are reported.

So if we go by the data alone, we're missing half of the whole picture.

So we go by the data of reporting and saying where the hate crimes happen.

Mostly the hate crimes happen for the LGBTQIA plus community is on the trains.

A lot of times we see them in public transportation, and we have programs across the city that we are in the trains, we in the streets, but we also see them in schools as well.

So part of the youth program that we have is working with the communities in the school to share about diversity, inclusion, equity, but also to we are also listening to the community.

So we have programs in schools, we have programs in senior centers.

Just this past week, actually, we have a member who called us and ask us, hey, I'm part of the LGBTQ community.

How can I support your office?

We are seeing hate crimes, and I'm proud to see my two interns who are here today.

They are working with him directly to plan a break and bread building bonds initiative in July.

So the point is that we listen to the community to what they tell us, and we go to where they need us to be in the city.

Oftentimes, you know, homophobia, transphobia can manifest in people's homes, like not in public places among family members.

So I'm wondering how you're thinking about combating LGBTQ, IA plus, uh hate or violence or discrimination that's happening in folks' home and not in public places.

So we would not know what happens in the homes as unless it's reported.

Um and then once they're reported, we work with our partners who the anti-violence project of New York very closely to find out programming and the relevant partners to within that community outreach to go in there and work with them.

We have a group called Votes Latina, who is under the Hispanic Federation.

So even though we have the anti-violence project of New York, this portfolio is not only, you know, within that one organization.

We have many groups with us and uh LGBTQIA plus work.

And Voses Latina works specifically with LGBTQIA plus communities in Queens and across the city to ensure that their concerns that you mentioned are heard, but their services provided to support them as they need them.

Next year we have a new group where we have LGBTQIA plus youths that we're working with them who may be experiencing the fears, the distress at home, but a way to overcome that through education as well.

And I just have one more quick question, Chair.

Um, just curious if there's any collaboration uh particularly with the LGBTQ hate prevention with the mayor's new office of LGBTQIA plus affairs.

Absolutely.

We have a project called Unity Grants that we work very closely with them.

So this office works through our office to identify seven different LGBTQIA plus groups where we give $20,000 each, and this program has been ongoing for the past three, four years now, and every year we have groups, many applications coming in to make sure to do this work in the community.

And again, I want to reiterate with the expanded funding, we can do more.

And we thank me and Mamdanny for that.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I just have a few more questions.

Um before we open it up to public testimony.

So we know that the FY27 2027 budget has not yet been finalized.

The administration proposed that the that historic uh increase as you mentioned.

Uh my question is what H O P H C programming up until now has been the most successful that might be prioritized for scaling up if more resources in fact do become available.

So I would say all of our programs have been successful because they all reach different New Yorkers at different points in their lives and across the city.

However, I would say the PATH initiative, we have trusted partners, again, these six anchor organizations and on most of the sub vendors who've been doing this work is definitely a place where we have to continue to support these trusted partners on the ground to make sure we increase their funding and give them the resources to serve New Yorkers in the most appropriate way, but to expand this outreach.

I don't think the PATH program should only have 60 organizations that serve 8.5 million New Yorkers.

We need to have an expanded part where we reach Canarse, we're in Bedford Cyberson and have more than one organization to meet the needs of New Yorkers across New York City.

So that's one program.

We also want to expand our youth initiatives by making sure we have the appropriate staff to uh mobilize and to include include more programming for the youths in schools, but also to include programming that has justice involved individuals who have committed hate crimes to have a part way where they can be rehabilitated and understand the hurt they have caused through restorative justices before they're re-entered the community.

Amidst an overall decrease in hate crimes across the city last year, we did see spikes in crimes against certain communities, including anti-Buddhist crimes and hate crimes against women.

How does OPHC respond to this type of trend?

And what does your work with community groups look like?

And how does OPHC engage with other agencies?

Thank you for that question.

Part of our initiative is exactly those seed grants that I mentioned to you before.

Those seed grants are specifically geared to meet the moment when we do see spikes of hate crimes across New York City.

Just this past year, in the first quarter of this year, we saw uh increase in Islamophobic hate crimes towards women, but interestingly committed by women against women.

And immediately we sprung into action and we work with a group called Bridging Cultures Inc., uh Bridging Cultures Group Inc.

who's led by Dr.

Debbie Al-Montessar.

And this program brings diverse females, any female identifying person into one room where we are building allyship, we're learning about leadership skills, and also to also inclusion and equity.

These programs such as this one is how we meet the moment uh when hate crimes do fluctuate across communities.

Additionally, we I guess mentioned before we're working with a group called Central Queens Against Hate, where we are providing community access and resources to meet the moment the rise in hate crimes in Queens as well.

Moving to uh interagency collaborations and coordination.

OPHC was recently relocated from the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice to the Office of Community Safety.

Does OPHC foresee any corresponding shifts in its approach to hate prevention?

For example, does that move reflect a shift in focus to engage with communities in a different way or strengthen your relationship with any particular city agencies?

The shift, there's no shift.

The shift has been there's no shift.

The point is that this work has always been central to New York City Office of Prevention of Hate Crimes, where we are focusing on all New Yorkers.

OCS and GOE moving to that office enables us to do more as a whole city approach, where now we are working with four more other agencies to bring a holistic approach to hate crime prevention.

And moving into this office now gives us much more lateral uh you know overview to make sure no communities are being missed, but also to we have governance to make sure that we are using resource sources widely to support New Yorkers.

Gotcha.

OPHC uh oversees the interagency committee on hate crimes.

Part of this work is advising the mayor and implementing a unified citywide approach to hate crime prevention, awareness, investigations, prosecution, and community impact.

How often does the committee meet and what are the primary topics addressed?

So the interagency committee on hate crimes, which I'm proud to say that our two-part-term agencies are part of.

We meet on a quarterly basis, and we have over 20 plus agencies who are part of that committee.

Um, when we meet together, we talk about hate, bias, discrimination and where it's happening, but also to collectively as a city, how can we respond to them?

Um, and also how is how often is the mayor directly involved in the interagency committee's work?

The mayor and his staff, they often come to different staff members from the agencies come to our meetings, um, different commissioners come to the meeting, they share what their office is doing, but also listen to what work is being done by AGC, OPUC as well.

And moving to resources.

We heard in the budget hearing that OPHC currently has three staffers.

While there plans to increase that number of staff, um I know you probably answered that before, but uh like how how much I want to answer that again, that's important.

Yes, please.

We want to be in Karnasi, we want to be in Bethlehem Styverson, but you know, we can only do so much with what we have.

Um, I again I want to reiterate with the increased funding to our office and the commitment from this mayor and its administration to hate prevention.

We definitely plan to increase our office's staff and to make sure we can, you know, do this work in a most coherent way.

Yes.

What are the civics or I'm sorry, what are the civil service titles of OPHC's current staff, and are there any you are looking to have added?

So at this point, you have myself who's the executive director, you have a deputy executive director and you have a senior programs manager.

We do plan to um, you know, in collaboration and discussion with the new office of community safety to have borough-based liaisons and to have, you know, because again, this work cannot be done for my office, it has to be done underground in the community, so we feel having more uh eyes and ears on the ground in each borough, uh we can meet the needs of New York City.

What's that?

Dedicated to specific initiatives, or do they work across multiple programs?

For example, are there dedicated staffers for the path forward that are different than those for 7 on 7 or the youth leadership ambassador program?

Yes, so we the way how we organize the work in the office is you know all the staff members have a portfolio of different programs, but again, it's a holistic approach, so all of us know what's happening at all times across different programs.

Lastly, who from OP who from OPHC sits on the interagency committee on hate crimes and what are their titles?

So interestingly, my all my staff sits on that.

We all sit there.

Of course, I lead the meetings.

My deputy direct director, Miss Erica Weir, she also is the one organizing the meetings and having different speakers come to different meetings, but all our staff are part of those meetings.

Thank you.

I'll pass it back to Councilmember Mealy.

Okay, I have just two questions.

Um, how um has OPHC ever been contacted for guidance or education specific, specifically in response to an incident at a school?

Could you give me an example?

Because I know one already.

I'll just have me stopping into my precinct and I went in.

I saw some young kids sitting there and I said hi, I didn't know them that well.

Find out it was my staff, children, and they were there because they were bullied, and the mother, she was on her way there to press charges.

So an incident like that, how would your program work with the police department to give that that data that we desperately need?

You say that um y'all work with the police department, so could y'all give me how it trickles down or do they call you and tell you?

I would love to know how this is.

Yeah, sure.

So on our website, we have links that be anyone who wants to request our office to pass.

That's the only way.

That's not the only way.

So again, we are at the schools as well where we work with the New York City Public Schools to share out information across the whole city via the respect for all liaisons through the guidance counselors to the district leaderships to all the schools that they know our offices.

We also have the hard work against hate programs.

So we try to make sure that a lot of schools and all schools know all the programs that our office offer and how they could get in touch with us.

Again, we we're doing this work based on capacity, and we plan to increase and continue to do this across the city in a larger, more direct way.

But I want to answer this question to you.

Any school can reach out to our office and we can get involved with them to do this.

Up to the schools, so how are you working with the Board of Education to let them know that shouldn't the principals report it?

To NYPD.

Yes.

And then but sometimes the principals do not.

If my staff didn't follow through with it, it would never have been a case.

So it's up to the principals now to release report it.

So are you working with Board of Education to make sure, or maybe we gotta put some legislation that it's a mandate that they report it?

Because we need this information with bullying, any other thing that is harmful, regarding hate.

So that's something I gotta think about.

And could you do you know that um it's kind of uh tension between um people from who have been living here all this time with the gentrifiers?

So do you think you could start doing anything in regards to that?

Because a lot of people feel they are being displaced.

That's the issue.

And you never know how many people feel um put aside, um, upset and sometimes biased.

So, therefore, have you ever thought about that um hatred or putting something in place for that?

Absolutely.

You know, we're always again.

Did you really know of it first?

Not specifically for justification, but again, we are in partnership with over 20 plus agencies across New York City.

We have the hate crimes notification system, we have our partners against the hate.

We have many programs across different levels.

And again, anyone, 90% of my job is to listen to the community.

If we ever hear anything like that, and we are called upon, we will go there and we will provide resources, we'll provide a way to listen, but also to say here's how we can support you.

Work with my partner organizations and go to the communities.

Please, we'll meet.

I'd love to hear more from you and ideas that you have.

I will definitely make that happen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I just like to note that we have been joined by Councilmember Pierina Sanchez as well.

Um, like to thank the administrative administration for your testimony.

It has been um informative and uh thank you.

Thank you.

I now open this hearing for public testimony, and I want to remind members of the public that this is a formal government proceeding and that decorum shall be observed at all times.

As such, members of the public shall remain silent at all times.

The witness table is reserved for people who wish to testify.

No video recording or photography is allowed from the witness table.

Furthermore, members of the public may not present audio or visual video recordings as testimony, but they may submit transcripts of such recordings to the sergeant at arms for inclusion in the hearing record.

If you wish to speak at today's hearing, please fill out an appearance card with the sergeant at arms and wait to be recognized.

When you are recognized, you will have exactly three minutes to speak on today's hearing topic.

If you have a written statement or additional witness or additional written testimony you wish to submit for the record, please provide a copy of that testimony to the sergeant at arms, and you may email written testimony to testimony at council.nyc.gov, which within 72 hours of this hearing, audio and video recordings will not be accepted.

For the first panel, we would like to call Leo Cesar Herrera, Scott Richman, and Animal.

I'm gonna spell the last name as A-U-L-A-K-H.

You may begin in any order you'd like.

You have exactly two minutes.

Sorry, three minutes.

Chair Chair Salam and members of the committee to combat hate.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

My name is Scott Richman, and I am honored to serve as the Regional Director for ADL New York New ADL's New York New Jersey region.

ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world dedicated since 1913 to fighting anti-Semitism and securing justice and fair treatment to all.

It is incumbent upon all of us to address and speak out on how we can collectively prevent and respond to hate in New York City.

As an example of such hate, let me paint the picture when it comes to fighting uh hate against uh Jewish community.

For nearly five decades, ADL has compiled an annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents.

The audit is drawn from reports submitted by victims, community leaders, law enforcement partners, and media documentation.

ADL tracks, verifies, and in many cases responds to these incidents.

2025 was the third highest year for anti-Semitic incidents since ADL began tracking data in 1979, nearly double pre-October 7th record highs.

The reality is that Jewish Americans continue to be harassed, assaulted, and targeted an average of 17 times every day across this country.

New York state is the epicenter of this crisis.

In 2025, New York recorded 1,160 anti-Semitic incidents, more than any other state in the nation, accounting for nearly one in five of all incidents recorded across the United States, and 74% of those incidents occurred within the five boroughs of New York City.

To respond to this surge in anti-Semitism and to all forms of hate and bias, ADL urges the council to promote community-based education programs that ensure the safety, inclusion, and support of the Jewish community and all communities.

Programs like ADL's No Place for Hate Initiative offers such tools.

No Place for Hate provides a framework for over 300 schools and over 200,000 students across New York and New Jersey to promote safe and inclusive school communities where every student can thrive.

The program is free for the schools, dozens of which are currently using it in New York City.

But we need help to get the word out about this effective means for combating hate and bias.

We also urge the council to support educator training and resources that empower teachers to address anti-Semitism and all forms of hate with confidence and accuracy in their classrooms.

To support this critical work, ADL has developed innovative tools like ADL Aura, our artificial intelligence-powered education assistant that provides K-12 educators and community members with instant access to trusted, expert-vetted lesson plans and teaching strategies on Jewish identity, anti-Semitism, and the Holocaust.

ADL looks forward to continuing our partnership with this committee, the New York City Council, and with the communities it serves.

We are grateful for your attention to this issue and stand ready to assist with data, resources, programs, and recommendations.

Thank you for your testimony.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

I'd like to extend my thanks to the chair, Youssef Salam, and for the Committee to Combat Hate.

My name is Julio Cesareda.

I am the I serve as a government operations director for Hispanic Federation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering Latina communities through programs and advocacy.

Our testimony reflects the collective insights and experiences of HF and more than 100 of New York City community-based partners involved in the city's Partners Against the Hate Forward Initiative.

HF has proudly served as an anchor organization for PAF, in partnership with the mayor's Office of Prevention of Hate Crimes.

Since 2021, this initiative has allowed us to fund, convene, and work alongside trusted CBOs that are helping New Yorkers understand, report, and prevent hate crimes and bias incidents.

Through PATH, Hispanic Federation and its partners have reached out to residents who are too often vulnerable to harassment, discrimination, and targeted violence.

Our partners consist of CBOs who intimately engage their own communities through culturally responsive anti-bias, anti-discrimination, anti-hate education across the five boroughs.

To date, through this work, Hispanic Federation and our sub-grantees have reached millions of individuals across New York City, and that reach reflects thousands of moments where community members were able to learn their rights, ask questions, better understand available resources, and feel less alone.

Despite the reach and measure deliverables of the PAF initiative, this endeavor remains deeply vulnerable without sustained investment.

If support is reduced or eliminated, many of our subgrantees carrying out this work will be forced to scale back programming, limit outreach, or suspend services altogether.

For those for those organizations who already operate with limited resources, even a modest disruption funding could have significant consequences.

Hispanic Federation adamantly believes that combating hate is both a public safety responsibility and the statement of who we are as a city.

We are deeply grateful to the council for its continued leadership and for understanding how imperative path is to bolster the voices of the most marginalized members of our communities.

We urge the council to continue supporting this critical initiative and the community-based organizations who are the bedrock of this initiative and on front lines of preventing hate, supporting victims, and building a safer, more inclusive New York City.

Thank you for this opportunity to testify and for your ongoing commitment.

Thank you as well.

Good afternoon.

My name is Mo Olik, and I'm speaking on behalf of the Sikh Coalition in support of meaningful sustained investments in hate crime and violence prevention in New York City.

The Sikh Coalition was founded in the aftermath of 9-11 when Sikh Americans, especially those who wear turbines and maintain articles of faith, were targeted with violence, discrimination, and profiling.

National FBI data continues to indicate six as a third most targeted religious group, with many incidents remaining unreported, misclassified, or misunderstood.

That is why the SIC coalition supports the proposed investments from the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes and the Office of Community Safety with these priorities.

It should include community-based and better reporting pathways so people who experience hate harassment or bias can seek support without being forced into unfamiliar systems, especially for immigrants, workers, elders, and those with limited English proficiency.

It should include additional funding for community organizations that have established trust in culturally competent ways, such as the Path Forward Initiative.

Organizations need full-time capacity and multilingual materials to respond to what impacted communities are experiencing.

It should include proactive relationship building to fund and expand programs that promote mutual understanding in communities before tensions escalate.

It should include anti-biased prevention education that accurately reflects the sick community, our articles of faith, and our history, without lack of understanding can have real safety consequences.

It should include rapid response and survivor support.

So when a Gordoara Sayebji, small business, taxi driver, student, or families targeted, they can receive language accessible resources, legal referrals, mental health support, and clear communication from city agencies.

We believe that all New Yorkers deserve to live without the fear of being targeted because of who they are or how they are perceived.

We urge this committee to utilize its budget increase to support these investments in partnership with communities that are impacted the most.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your testimony.

Thank you, Chair.

There was a beautiful event that we held.

I think that's a big part of the work is just bringing the positive to our communities and bringing people together like that.

So thank you for your uh partnership on the Bodega Festival.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And also, I just have a question for the Hispanic Federation.

Um, your work to reduce underreporting of hate crimes.

Um what has your experience in your experience been?

In terms of I'm sorry, if you could elaborate a little further.

So the work specifically your work to reduce underreporting of the hate crimes that have been happening.

Right.

I just wanted to know what like which what your experience has been.

So, um, there are two approaches to that.

Um, the first is through our CBOs who all who intimately pack a lot of anti-biased work into a lot of the uh already ongoing curriculum that they employ in their communities.

Um of course even as an institution such as ours, everyone has blinders on, so we refer best to the organizations that are already based in the communities that we're looking to serve.

And from HF's standpoint, we've also reached out on several outreach campaigns, um, bilingual PSA campaigns, both in English and Spanish, um, in key population junctions, as well as had uh several mentions of anti-bias, anti-discriminatory campaigns over the radio, um, and over just to reference from 2023.

Um I apologize.

So in 2023, when we deployed 10 community canvassers and surveyed more than 10,000 New Yorkers, we saw that 31% didn't know what legally constituted a hate crime, and then after identifying which 78% already experience that they had experienced one and never reported it.

So with that, a lot of I apologize.

I'm just trying to get my words together because it it's a multi-so it's a multi-pronged approach.

With that, we've seen that in the communities and the different populations that we affect, be that from uh different sexuality, race, creed, a lot of them start to realize the fact that they had already experienced a hate crime, that they never really understood because of the banality of it, how pro how profound and how pervasive it can be on a day-to-day interaction.

So that was something that from our experience is something that's far too prevalent, if that better answers your question.

No, it definitely does, and you know, thank you for for um describing it, because I know oftentimes those who've been close to the pain, you know, if they have a seat at the table, they can, you know, really, really do the best work, especially when it comes to fixing this uh issue.

Just have one more.

And this is this is a question for all three of you.

Um about your work with different language communities.

What are the challenges that you may have been encountering in working across different languages communities?

I think just going back to CBO outreach, um of course we have different we have over a hundred partners spread out across the five boroughs.

Um a lot of that includes in areas in Queens uh that might not be our specific, let's say demographic, but um, for example, La Volsa Sunidas that was um referenced before, they not only employ and identify safe spaces for LGBTQIA folks, um other groups such as uh new immigrant community empowerment uh focuses on training undocumented day laborers based on workplace bias discrimination as packed into already existing know your rights training, and that cuts across different languages, different ethnicities.

Um something that we we rely heavily on the coalition of partners that we have that cut across different sectors of identities and better represent the mosaic of this city.

Um from the work that I do as well, um, given that we work with the sick community, uh our community really needs uh bilingual materials and resources to effectively uh communicate their needs and to help understand what's going on within our community.

And so we heavily work with, you know, Gordon Saibis, which are sick houses of worship, um, who pr predominantly also speak in Punjabi as well.

So we do our best to provide know your rights resources as well, um, you know, provide presentations and make sure that they have all the information that they need to know how to access resources, legal uh referrals, mental health support, and various other components as well.

So we really take pride in the fact that we do our best to make sure that our communities' needs are being heard while you know using our own capacity to translate their needs effectively as well.

I would just add, in terms of our community, the Jewish community, the language that uh is uh a little bit more difficult to manage is Yiddish.

Uh there is a significant Yiddish speaking population here in New York.

Uh many of them speak English, but not all, uh, or not or or not so well, and reaching them in that language is important.

And I can actually relate to the other question that you asked of uh uh of my colleague here, um, that uh you know the issue of under-reporting.

Uh, a major way to combat under-reporting is to build those relationships.

Uh so what we've done is we actually hired two people who are members of the Orthodox community.

Uh, that was relatively new for us a few years ago, and it has been very, very important.

Very important both for reaching them because they're Yiddish speakers, but also for making sure that uh they there's a trust that's developed, and when there's a trust that's developed, people report.

So we were receiving very few reports from the Orthodox community just a few years ago, and that has changed tremendously, and it's changed tremendously because of that trust, and the language barriers broken.

You know, very, very, very important to uh to have that.

And I will just add that uh Orthodox Jews in the city are uh disproportionately affected by such incidents because they are what we call visibly identifiable Jews, uh, so very, very important, and that's why the organization made the commitment to hire people that uh that could build that kind of trust and have those language skills.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony.

I appreciate it.

I'd not now like to call the second panel, which consists of Sophia, Tobia Gage, and Hilary Stutchin.

And you each have three minutes and maybe begin in whichever order you'd like.

All right.

Hi there.

Uh, Chair Salam, uh, members of the committee, thank you so much for hosting this hearing today.

Um, I'm Hillary Stuchin, and I'm here on behalf of UJA Federation of New York, and thank you so much for uh providing the opportunity to testify.

UJA supports nearly 100 nonprofit partners that serve New Yorkers of all backgrounds.

Um, we serve older adults, children, families, immigrants, survivors of trauma, people with disabilities, individuals facing poverty, and food insecurity, as well as isolation.

We also uh work to strengthen Jewish life, combat anti-Semitism, and build bridges across communities throughout the five boroughs.

We appreciate the council's continued attention to the alarming rise in hate and bias incidents in the city, which harm more than just the targeted individual.

These events send a message to communities that they may not be safe in their neighborhoods, schools, houses of worship, workplaces, or public spaces.

For Jewish New Yorkers in particular, this fear is not abstract.

Um anti-Semitic incidents, as you've heard, continue to represent a disproportionate share of reported hate crimes in New York City, and Jewish institutions on their end have operated at heightened vigilance uh since October 2023.

So CBOs in this are essential to our essential partners in both the prevention, education and response to hate and bias.

They're trusted by their communities, they serve and can help uh people navigate trauma, access mental health support, social services, and understand the reporting options that they have to build a sense of safety.

We asked the uh council as well as the city to prioritize prioritize the following steps and actions.

We appreciate the proposed $29 million dollars for um the Office of Prevention of Hate Crimes, and we hurried urge the administration to invest those resources, excuse me, in effective programming that addresses the underlying causes of hate and bias, including anti-Semitism.

The city should continue to improve reporting systems and outreach, so New Yorkers know the difference between what hate crime is, a bias incident, discrimination, complaints, and emergencies, and know where to go for help in their preferred language.

We also believe that the city should continue to invest in education and means prevention, where schools and youth-serving programs are critical setting settings for addressing bias before it escalates to harm.

It's similarly important to make sure that teachers are aware and informed that so they can recognize these incidents.

And we encourage the city to view educator preparedness as an essential component of this prevention strategy.

CBO's uh community-based prevention should include partnerships with organizations that equip teachers and schools with the resources and support necessary to foster understanding our differences.

Um I see I have 23 seconds left, so I'll just say thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I will submit written testimony separately.

Thank you as well.

Okay.

Uh good afternoon.

The Council on American Islamic Relations New York would like to thank Chair Yusuf Salam and the entire committee to combat hate for the opportunity to provide testimony here today.

Uh my name is Sophia Tobia Gage, and I'm speaking on behalf of CARE New York.

Care New York is the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in New York State.

Our mission is to protect the civil liberties, promote justice, and empower Muslim New Yorkers.

We serve the 800,000 to 1 million Muslim New Yorkers from extremely diverse backgrounds, racial and ethnic origins, as well as non-Muslim communities that have long been among the primary targets of hate crimes in this city.

As many of you know, Mayor Mamdani invested $26 million into the Department of Community Safety, which includes the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes.

This investment is a meaningful step toward addressing the persistent and deeply harmful patterns of hate and violence our communities have faced, ensuring this city flourishes as a place for all who live here.

We urge the city council to match the mayor's commitment and to ensure these resources reach the community-based organizations like Care New York that are on the front lines of this work.

Since October 2023, Care New York witnessed a dramatic surge in reports of bias related to incidents in the subway, in schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods where communities meant to gather and feel safe.

These trends reveal that we are not dealing with isolated incidents of discrimination, of violence, or of harassment, but rather this is a true reflection of the broader climate of dehumanization of vulnerable communities.

This requires urgency and coordination between the city and said community organizations.

The numbers speak for themselves, right?

Based on figures, care New York has carefully collected, hate crimes against Muslims has risen in alarming 130% between 2020 and 2025 nationally.

This represents a small fraction of actual incidents as our communities consistently underreport due to fear and distrust and a lack of accessible resources.

In our feeling the hate report, um, we found that 64% of Muslims have experienced a hate crime bias incident or both.

Yet only 4% of those who experienced a hate crime reported it to law enforcement because they either did not uh trust that or did not feel uh like a productive um action to report to such agencies.

Um lastly that's 75% of Muslim women have experienced a hate crime, a bias incident, or both.

In 2024, the NYPD only recorded only 43 anti-Muslim hate crimes in New York City.

Yet, as I demonstrated, Care New York received significantly more reports from our community that same year.

We are capturing more incidents than the official police data reflects, which means there is a persistent and troubling gap between official city official data and the reality on the ground.

Um a statewide level, New York State, the New York State Comptroller reports that hate crimes against Muslim New Yorkers rose 106% between 2018 and 2023.

These are not abstract data points, these are people, these are our entire communities.

Community based organizations have been leading hate-based hate violence prevention efforts for years, fighting identity based violence and trauma informed support to hate crime survivors long before dedicated city funding existed for this purpose.

Um Care New York is a direct okay.

I do have a question.

Well, the time expired, but I do have a question.

You said something about, and I just wanted to get the year right.

Up 130% natural nationally, between which years was that?

Between the years 2020 and 2025.

Okay.

Any drill down for New York City itself?

Say it one more time.

Any data that specifically deals towards New York City itself?

I know that's that's nationally, but yeah.

So uh Care New York is represents not just New York City but also New York State.

So the data that we reflected in our feeling the hate report reflects um the entire state.

Um but in that uh report, um sorry, give me one second.

Um we have seen, yeah, I think so.

Sorry.

Um I don't have the data specifically on the amount of reports, but um that can be reflected in our larger, in our um requests for assistance in case files and documents, but um, yeah, the the previous panel we discussed and asked them about also the underreporting um based on language uh barriers and things of that nature.

So I'm I really want to ask that same question to both of you.

Um, has there been any experience that you all have uh had as it relates to language barriers under reporting?

Um I know Kerr mentioned the data that they've collected that's not um trying to find a better word than equal to what the NYPD has been collecting.

But really, I just wanted to know from both of you, um, and we can start with you.

What is the example experience been in terms of the language barriers and under reporting and things of that nature?

Sure.

No, so we work with a uh you know citywide group of over a hundred nonprofits or close to a hundred nonprofits dealing with all sorts of communities, but I will say um in addition to the Yiddish speaking community, which is prominent uh within uh Brooklyn and elsewhere, um also in South Brooklyn, the Russian speaking community often needs resources uh in order to access various supports and understand um you know where they can go, should a bias and sit in or hate and sit in her.

Um at Care New York, uh many of the uh members of our education staff um are bilingual and so are speaking um the speaking Arabic, which is the uh Arabic and English are the main languages that our constituents are speaking, um, and then also um additionally with the partner organizations that we work with, um we uh there are often um translators if or if you know if need be, but that hasn't been an issue necessarily.

Um I'm curious to know as well.

Um I'm trying to figure out how to how to state this.

What I'm curious to know is, has any of your data surrounded for the Jewish community, the black Jewish community, and any hate reporting, because in my district in District 9 in Harlem, we do have a Jewish community that is black, and in additional to care, um anything dealing with like the I mean we have like a whole little Africa community that involves all kinds of folks from the uh African diaspora.

And I'm just wondering, has there been any information as it relates to people of uh I don't want to just say African American descent because they've been categorized like that if they don't have their Yarmica on or Kufi on or something like that?

Yeah, no, so um I personally don't have that information available right now, but we're more than happy to follow up with your office and provide answers to any of these questions.

I will say this, you know.

Uh we understand that we go back to the under-reporting of it all, right?

So, and what data is available to look back to.

So I'll happily get that information for you.

Um yeah, I'm also happy to get that information and send it a later time, but I will say that um the African and African American Muslim um communities are a large majority of our constituents and um groups that we um yeah, are very important that we work with often.

Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony.

Thank you.

And now we have the third panel.

Madison Mounty and Marisa.

And we also have on Zoom Leslie Claire Allen.

I think you may begin in any order you like.

You each have three minutes.

Good afternoon, Chair Salam and members of the committee.

Thank you for convening this critical hearing.

My name is Madison Mountie, and I'm the Director of Government Relations and Advocacy for the Simon Weesenthal Center.

For decades, the SWC has fought anti-Semitism, hate, and bias by focusing on the most powerful tool for long-term prevention, education.

We are at a defining moment in New York City.

The data shows a sobering persistent rise in identity-based harassment and hate crimes.

While reactive measures are necessary, true safety begins with proactive community prevention.

We much must reach people before bias takes root, especially our youth.

I'm here to highlight the important work that we are doing locally across the five boroughs through two vital community-based initiatives.

First, our combating hate in digital spaces workshops.

In long-standing partnership with the City Council, SWC and our team of experienced educators have reached thousands of New York City public school students through our educational workshops.

Combating hate in Digital Spaces is a learning experience designed for grades seven through twelve and offered in classrooms across the five boroughs.

With a focus on digital identity, AI, and civic responsibility.

These workshops provide students with an identity Venn diagram that supports reflection on how their digital selves are shaped, as well as the responsibilities and real world consequences that accompany their online presence.

Learners explore the formation of online identities and examine how the algorithm influences and manipulates individual actions in digital spaces.

Second, our mobile museums of tolerance.

We know that access to high quality immersive education shouldn't depend on a school's budget or zip code.

Our MMOTs are a state-of-the-art traveling classroom that brings world-class human rights and anti-biased education directly to New York City neighborhoods through the support of New York State.

Our two MMOTs bring immersive tolerance education directly to schools and communities across New York.

We use cutting-edge digital storytelling to engage audiences in learning about the Holocaust, civil rights movement, digital literacy, anti-semitism, racism, bullying, and social justice.

These programs are not just concepts, they're operational blueprints for community-based prevention that build empathy and resilience directly inside our neighborhoods.

To scale these efforts and meet the current and growing need, we cannot do it alone.

We urge the city council to prioritize sustained investments in mobile accessible education and SWC's digital literacy workshops so we can reach every public school and community center in this city.

Safety and dignity cannot be selective.

We must protect every single New Yorker.

We applaud this committee's ongoing leadership and stand ready to partner with you to expand these vital educational resources.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Chair Salam.

Thank you so much for your time.

My name is Marissa Barak, and I'm the Assistant Director of AJC New York, the New York City Regional Office of the American Jewish Committee, the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people since 1906.

Before I begin, I want to provide a historical point regarding the definition of anti-Semitism.

The term anti-Semitism was invented in 1879 specifically as a term for anti-Jewish hatred by a racist German pseudoscientist to legitimize hatred against Jews.

Using it to cover other groups act and accidentally erase the unique history of anti-Jewish bigotry and make it harder to precisely address.

According to AJC's 2025 State of Anti-Semitism in America report, 56% of Jewish New Yorkers reported changing their behavior out of fear of anti-Semitism.

More than half of Jewish New Yorkers aren't merely worried about anti-Semitism.

They're changing how they live because of it.

That's what fear looks like in practice.

And if more than half of Jewish New Yorkers are changing their behavior because they're afraid, we should be asking whether the city's current approach to preventing hate and bias is adequately protecting a community that remains the target of more than half of all reported hate crimes in our city.

If the city is serious about prevention, it has to acknowledge that anti-Semitism isn't fueled only by extremists.

It's also fueled when public figures normalize rhetoric that casts Jews, Jewish institutions or core aspects of Jewish identity as suspect, unwelcome, or uniquely deserving of scrutiny.

As the council evaluates the city's approach to hate and bias, AJC encourages a focus on the priorities outlined in our combating antisemitism playbook, including strengthening relationships between government and communities, improving education about contemporary manifestations of anti-Semitism, increasing coordination across institutions, and ensuring that policymakers have the information they need to respond effectively.

Thank you so much for your time and your consideration.

Thank you both for your testimony.

I do have a question for SWC.

It feels like the internet and social media continue to grow as the epicenter of so much hate.

Can you talk a bit more about SWC's experience in combating discrimination in digital spaces and how that work may be growing if it is.

Yeah, so something that our education team is constantly evaluating is updating our digital literacy workshops and meeting students where they are and meeting the moment.

So something new for this year that we incorporated is background on the algorithm, and what we find is a lot of students walk away from our workshops, having a better understanding of what is hate speech and bias online.

They don't recognize a lot of these things initially, and that's something that we help them educate themselves on.

And we also help them learn how what they interact with online can then further perpetuate what they see around miss and disinformation, hate speech bias, and how sometimes what they interact with is constituted as bullying or a hate crime.

And so I think we start as young as we can, and we're looking to start even younger than seventh grade, as early as third grade elementary school, and we're also looking to expand into college campuses so that we can really reach students from the beginning and give them a better informed sense of an ethical online presence and really help promote tolerance and mutual respect over division and hate speech.

One of the things that I've been seeing as well, I mean, I have 10 children, myself, the youngest is 10, is that oftentimes as parents or as educators and loved ones, we may be, and this is really for both of you, we may be um engaged in activities like cooking or cleaning or something of that nature, and oftentimes our children might be on those digital spaces and digital, you know, doing doing things like on YouTube or whatever.

And I'm just wondering what that experience has been, because of course we know that seventh grade is is really great, but we've been seeing trends that are going even further down, meaning attacking younger and younger individuals in order to try to make them into a group of people that actually hate, you know, because hate is taught.

And so um, I'm just wondering what both of your experiences have been, um, as it relates to really pulling in this conversation towards younger individuals.

Yeah, uh, we're definitely seeing a greater need, like you said, for starting even younger than we currently do, and it's something that, again, our education team is working on developing because we have to modify the workshops that we provide based on the age group.

What works for a seventh grader or a fifth grader is not necessarily going to work for a second or third grader.

So we have to make the curriculum and the topics that we're discussing equally as impactful and effective, but also understandable for the age that they're at.

And part of that is learning and adapting how we deliver that through digital literacy.

You know, we're not trying to promote increased usage of social media platforms or increase their time online even more than it already is because that's already growing, but it's how to include what platforms they're already on or what they're being introduced to and making that the forefront and helping them recognize um again what's hate speech online, helping them be upstanders rather than bystanders in those efforts.

Thank you for your question, council member.

Um it's of course important for parents to have honest conversations with their children about different manifestations of hate and speaking specifically about hatred against Jews about anti-Semitism.

It's such a nuanced form of hate because of its history, and there are different manifestations of anti-Semitism.

Uh understanding Jewish peoplehood and Jewish history, Jewish American history is of course an important part of being able to understand and then counter and prevent anti-Semitism.

Another aspect, however, is also the social media space as you spoke of.

Parents, I'm sure, would love to be able to prohibit as much of their children's time on social media as possible, but that's not always the reality, and we need to be able to hold social media and tech companies accountable for the hate that permeates across their platforms, regarding intergovernmental coordination.

Um, do you have anything that you may want to elaborate regarding that space?

Regarding intergovernmental coordination.

Yeah, in terms of working with them, what would you like to see more of preventing hate and things of that nature?

Certainly there should be more coordination amongst the different government uh agencies and institutions.

Um we specifically would like to see them working more closely together on prevention and things like policy and education.

Um, I think that is a core piece that is important for a city like New York that has a mayoral administration and a co-equal branch that is the city council.

Um, for me, our programs, our classroom programs are supported long-standing partnership through the city council, and then our mobile museums of tolerance are supported through the state, and as it relates to our classroom programming, we'd love to be able to partner with more council districts and bring our programs to as many public schools across the five boroughs as as we possibly can.

Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony.

Thank you.

And uh on Zoom, if you are available, Leslie, Claire, Allen.

Okay.

Um that's also different because some of them are.

You could begin.

Hello, can everyone hear me?

Yes.

Uh thank you.

I'm first I want to apologize for not being there in person.

Uh, as you can hear from my voice, I'm very sick, and I didn't want to get anyone else sick.

Um, but my name is Leslie Allen.

I use pronouns she hers, and I'm the deputy, and I'm the director of legal services at the New York City Anti-Violence Project.

Uh, the New York City Anti-Violence Project is one of the path.

So sorry.

We have been proudly working with PATH for the past five years, and I I believe that our work is extremely meaningful in helping prevent LGBTQ communities from facing extreme violence.

But in part of both the prevention of hate violence, there has to also be the structure there to help survivors of violence who the hate has not been stopped and they've actually been harmed in the present.

And ADP very proudly has a 24-hour seven-day-a-week crisis hotline where survivors can call who maybe uninterested in calling the police, maybe attempted to call the police and didn't get the response that they wanted, or simply don't really even understand how to place context into whatever hate violence they experienced and don't know what they want to do next.

AVP's long history of working with city council to stop violence towards LGBTQ people is something that we're extremely proud of.

We believe that the new investment from the Winami administration, what we hope we'll be seeing for the City Council, will usher in a new bright era for New York City that really allows us to be a beacon of hope.

While nationally we're seeing unprecedented rise of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, especially towards the transgender communities and towards LGBTQ immigrants.

It's becoming harder and harder to meet the needs.

We have an extensive wait list for legal services, and we really need to see this future investment into more organizations like AVP in order to help meet the people that meet the people's needs who uh are experiencing the hate.

And I'm so sorry.

Um I'm going to let you go because I'm having such trouble talking, but thank you so much.

Thank you for your testimony.

And uh hopefully you'll have uh a speedy recovery.

And if you need to reach out to us and uh to provide written testimony, that definitely is available to you.

Uh at testimony.

Testimony at council.nyc.gov.

Thank you.

I'd now like to call the last panel via Zoom.

Glenn Bolovsky, Jennifer, Nicole Almeida, and Christopher Leon Johnson.

Starting time.

Okay, I don't see them on Zoom.

Uh, we will do a last call in the room.

If anyone else wishes to testify, you may testify uh by filling out a appearance form uh with the sergeant at arms.

Seeing none, that concludes today's business.

Thank you for your testimony.