Tuesday, June 23, 2026, 1 p.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 1
Committee: Committee to Combat Hate
The Committee to Combat Hate, chaired by Council Member Yusef Salaam, held an oversight hearing on the role of community engagement in preventing and responding to hate and bias. Administration witnesses from the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC), the Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism (MOCA), and the Mayor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships described their programs, including the PATH initiative, the Seven-on-Seven community dialogue series, youth ambassador programs, and a mayoral antisemitism listening tour, noting a 20% citywide reduction in hate crime complaints in 2025 but spikes affecting some communities. Council members questioned the offices on partnership selection, funding allocation, school-based programming, hate crime notification systems, and outreach to specific communities. Public testimony came from eight organizations supporting sustained investment in hate crime prevention.
0:15 Way good afternoon, everyone
0:15 and welcome to today's New
0:18 York City Council hearing for
0:19 the committee to combat hate.
0:21 If you would like to testify
0:23 .you must fill our testimony
0:24 slip with one of the sergeant
0:26 at arms. He can also submit
0:28 testimony at testimony at
0:30 council that got at this time,
0:34 please silence all of devices
0:35 and no 1 approach a day is at
0:37 any time during this hearing.
0:39 We are ready to begin. Good
0:51 afternoon, everyone. My nam
0:52 eis Yusef Salaam and I serve as
0:53 the chair to the committee on
0:54 camp to combat hate. I would
0:56 like to first start off by
0:58 thanking everyone for joining
0:58 us here today and I would also
1:01 like to recognize my
1:03 colleagues as they ce iomnto
1:09 the role? Not yet, but
1:12 . Today's today's oversight
1:12 hearing examines the role of
1:15 community engagement in
1:15 preventing and responding t
1:18 ohate and bias. New
1:19 . York City is one of the most
1:19 diverse places on earth the
1:23 diversity of our the diversity
1:25 that diversity is our greatest
1:28 strength.
1:28 And it is a source of great
1:29 pride and unity for New
1:32 yorkers hate crimes strike at
1:34 the very heart of this
1:35 strength by seeking to divide,
1:37 seeking to pit us against each
1:40 other as opposed to uniting
1:44 one another. They target not
1:45 just the individual.
1:47 But all our communities,
1:48 sending a message of fear and
1:51 exclusion to all who share the
1:54 victim's faith, the victim's
1:56 wreath race, the victim's
2:00 gender identity or the
2:01 victim's background that harm
2:03 is immediately
2:04 . But it can be, it can
2:06 reverberate throughout
2:06 . Generations at our last
2:08 hearing we examine some very
2:10 concerning multi year trends
2:12 of increasing hate crime and
2:15 bias
2:15 . Get in 20 25. We also saw
2:17 some encouraging
2:18 . Trends last year in New York
2:19 City recorded a 20% citywid
2:22 ereduction and hate crime
2:22 complaints across the board
2:25 compared to the prior year.
2:29 This includes decreases
2:30 across all four major
2:32 categories of bias, religion,
2:35 race and ethnicity, gender
2:37 and sexual orientation and of
2:41 course, each
2:42 . Much of this progress
2:42 reflects sustained investments
2:44 in prevention and youth
2:46 leadership and community
2:47 outreach and in coordinated
2:52 citywide action. We are here
2:52 to learn more about this work
2:53 and how it can be supported
2:56 and expanded in the coming
2:59 years
3:00 . And at the same time, we
3:00 must also take an honest look
3:04 at where the fight against
3:04 hate is falling short even in
3:06 a year of.
3:08 Overall progress. Some
3:09 communities still suffered
3:10 spikes in hate bias, violenc
3:14 ebuddhist communities, for
3:15 example, so a dramatic
3:16 increase in reported hate
3:17 crimes and anti female crimes
3:19 rules as well
3:22 . These variations remind us
3:23 that aggregate data can
3:26 obscure real challenges and
3:28 harms.
3:28 We must ensure that no
3:30 community is left behind that
3:32 no community is ignored. We
3:37 also know that hate crimes are
3:39 chronically under.
3:40 Reported, not necessarily
3:41 because of distress in the
3:42 government, although that can
3:43 be a part of it.
3:46 Instead, many turn to their
3:46 communities for trusted
3:50 support when they have been
3:51 the target of hate and bias.
3:53 This is why it's crucial that
3:55 we partner with community
3:57 based organizations to build
3:58 trust to encourage reporting
4:01 and to connect affected
4:02 individuals and communities
4:04 with the resources and support
4:07 they need.
4:07 Today we'll hear from three
4:09 offices whose work reflects
4:11 this principle office for the
4:12 prevention of hate crimes. The
4:14 mayor's office to combat anti
4:18 semitism
4:18 . In the mayor's office of
4:19 faith based and community
4:21 partnerships. I look forward
4:22 to a thoughtful discussion
4:24 surrounding these issues as
4:25 well as feedback and testimony
4:27 from the administration and,
4:29 of course, members of our
4:32 public.
4:32 I'll know. I would like to
4:33 pass it to our committee
4:33 counsel to administer the oat
4:39 s. Good afternoon, everyone.
4:39 Thank you for being here if
4:41 you could raise your right
4:42 hand, please and repeat after
4:45 me. I I swear to tell the
4:47 truth, the whole truth and
4:48 nothing but the truth before
4:56 this committee. Thank you so
4:56 much you begin. Oh, dennis
5:15 .good afternoon chair salam
5:16 ,members of the community t
5:17 ocome back hates and all
5:19 members of the New York City
5:21 council. My name is jeremy,
5:24 and I am the executive
5:25 director for the New York City
5:25 office for the prevention of
5:28 hate crimes, also known as
5:31 opie hc, which under minimum
5:32 donnie's leadership is now
5:33 probably part of the city's
5:36 New office to come for
5:38 community safety before.
5:39 I begin. I want to thank me
5:41 and I'm donny, the deputy
5:43 Mayor of community safety. We
5:43 need a francois and the
5:46 commissioner of the office of
5:48 community safety doctor brahms
5:51 for their bold vision and for
5:52 making the prevention of hate,
5:54 a genuine priority of thi
5:58 sadministration the decision t
5:59 obring opr see into the office
6:00 of community safety was not a
6:03 routine reorganization. It was
6:04 a clear statement of value,
6:08 preventing eight before it
6:09 ever takes hold is not
6:10 peripheral to public safety
6:12 ,but rather it is central to I
6:15 tthat commitmen hast finally
6:16 given offices like ours. The
6:20 mandates, the partners and the
6:21 support to do the work at the
6:23 as an afterthought expected t
6:32 osolve growing challenges
6:35 without the resources
6:36 necessary to meet the moment
6:41 this administration has made a
6:42 different choice. The mamdani
6:44 administration has made and
6:46 unprecedented.
6:46 Commitment to hat
6:48 eprevention by increasing
6:50 funding or to obviously by $26
6:55 million, an increase of more
6:55 than 800% this historic
6:59 investment recognizes that
7:00 preventing hate is not simply
7:02 about responding after
7:05 incidents occur if it's about
7:06 building resilient communities
7:08 where hate cannot take root in
7:10 the first place for the first
7:13 time opioid being resource
7:15 ,that is scale that matches
7:16 both the urgency of this
7:18 mission and the diversity of
7:20 the City it serves.
7:22 That investment will allow
7:23 us to expand programming,
7:27 deepen partnerships reach more
7:29 communities hire more staff
7:30 and build a City prevention
7:34 infrastructure. It is a
7:35 ninvestment worthy of our City,
7:37 the most diversity in the
7:40 world that diversity is one of
7:42 our greatest strengths, but it
7:44 also requires intentional
7:45 investments to keep those
7:49 bonds strong investments in
7:52 relationship building
7:53 investments in education
7:55 investments in community trust
7:57 today, I would like t
7:59 ohighlight how opiates see with
8:00 the backing of the man
8:03 administration fulfills its
8:04 mission to prevent hate
8:07 strengthening communities and
8:08 fast to belonging across our
8:11 City, no New yorker should
8:13 ever feel unsafe because of
8:15 their identity, their beliefs.
8:18 The appearances or background.
8:19 This administration had made
8:22 that principle a foundation of
8:24 community safety agenda and
8:26 opiate is proud to help carry
8:31 it forward one of the primary
8:31 ways we accomplish this work
8:33 is through partners against
8:34 the hate initiative or pat
8:37 hpath is a backbone of New York
8:39 city's community based prevent
8:41 hate prevention infrastructure
8:42 through six and organizations
8:44 and more than 40 some vendors.
8:47 Path provides cultural
8:49 responsive programming in more
8:50 than 20 languages and reaches
8:53 communities across all fiv
8:56 eboroughs because we believe
8:57 hate prevention is not only
8:59 about responding after harm
9:01 occurs path health bills,
9:04 resilient communities by
9:05 creating opportunities for New
9:05 yorkers to connect.
9:08 Learn from one another and
9:09 recognize the common humanity
9:11 that binds us all
9:14 . In fiscal year 20 25 alone
9:15 through a path in and
9:18 obviously led programming we
9:20 conducted nearly 700 events
9:24 engage more than 62000
9:26 participants across New York
9:29 City
9:29 . Worked alongside over 240
9:31 partners and in over 20
9:37 different languages. These
9:37 efforts include anti hate
9:39 education victim support
9:40 services conflict, the
9:42 escalation training, youth
9:44 programming and outreach to
9:46 communities that have
9:47 historically faced barriers to
9:49 reporting hate incidents
9:52 . What makes path successful
9:53 is that it is led by trusted
9:56 organizations deeply rooted I
9:57 nthe communities they serve
10:00 these organizations are often
10:00 in the first residents turned
10:06 to for support information and
10:07 healing after experiencing
10:08 bias or hate call part path
10:11 partners, including the 67%
10:14 clergy council, the jewish
10:16 community relations council
10:19 anti violence project, the
10:20 american association of New
10:23 York, the asian american
10:24 federation and the hispanic
10:26 federation work together t
10:27 ocombat anti semitism, anti
10:31 lgbt plus hate islamophobia.
10:34 Anti asian hate anti arab
10:36 hates anti black racism and
10:38 other forms of bias wlehi
10:41 fostering inclusion,
10:42 solidarity and safety for all
10:46 New yorkers
10:46 . The impact extends beyond
10:48 any single.
10:49 Event when communities have
10:51 trusted relationships nowhere
10:53 to seek help and feel
10:53 connected to one another, they
10:57 are better equipped to prevent
10:59 conflicts from escalating
11:00 support victims when incidents
11:02 occur and build resilience
11:04 against hate and bias another
11:07 way we accomplish his work is
11:08 by bringing communities
11:09 together through initiatives
11:11 such as unity in the community
11:15 seven on seven.
11:16 This initiative emerged
11:17 during a period of heightened
11:20 concerned along
11:20 . Roosevelt avenue in queens.
11:23 Public conversations about
11:26 street vending
11:26 . Quality of life concerns and
11:27 changing conditions in the
11:29 corridor we're creating
11:30 tension among residents and
11:32 community groups threatening
11:34 to erode trust and deepen
11:37 division rather than allowing
11:37 communities to retreat further
11:39 into silos. Opie, is she to
11:42 create spaces for dialogue and
11:44 connection obviously, and his
11:46 partners brought together a
11:48 communities connected by the
11:50 seventh training corridor
11:51 seven on seven. That's the
11:54 wholehing t, including east
11:55 asia, south asia, south, east
11:58 asian communities, latino
11:59 communities. Lgbt q hopeless
12:02 plus of diverse of other
12:03 communities we partner with
12:05 City agencies to bring
12:06 resources directly t
12:07 oneighborhoods while creating
12:09 opportunities for his
12:10 residents to share experiences
12:13 . Learn about one another our
12:13 culture and identify common
12:18 concerns. The goal was simple
12:20 to remind New yorkers that
12:21 what we have. What would that
12:22 there is more in common that
12:26 unites us.
12:26 Anti virus they initially
12:28 demonstrated the power of
12:29 bringing coming together by
12:31 creating opportunities for
12:32 residents to connect, she
12:34 experiences and build
12:35 relationships. It helps
12:37 strengthens trust
12:37 . Deepened understanding and
12:41 reinforce the sense of
12:42 belonging that makes
12:44 communities is.
12:45 Resilience these connections
12:45 are the foundation of
12:48 community cohesion.
12:49 Helping neighbors see one
12:49 another, not as strangers but
12:52 as partners in building is
12:54 strong and more connected
12:56 community. Finally, as a
12:58 critical part of our long term
13:00 prevention strategy is
13:02 investing in young people
13:04 through of a youth ambassador
13:06 leadership program or yelp,
13:09 launched in October 2025 and
13:11 in partnership with New York
13:12 City public schools, the youth
13:15 ambassador program or yelp and
13:16 young people between the ages
13:17 of 818 to become ambassadors
13:22 of inclusion, respect and
13:24 belonging. The program brings
13:26 all five boroughs.
13:35 But dispense received
13:35 training in leadership
13:38 development, civic engagement,
13:40 public speaking community
13:41 organizing and restarted
13:44 practices
13:44 . What makes the all
13:45 particularly powerful is that
13:46 young people are not simply
13:49 learning about leadership
13:50 .they are practicing it.
13:54 Participants in the program
13:54 returned to their schools and
13:56 communities to lead projects.
13:58 Facility discussions in
13:59 their schools and communities
14:00 and serve as a positive role
14:02 model for their peers at a
14:06 time when young, many young
14:07 people are exposed to miss
14:10 division and online hate y'all
14:13 provides an opportunity to
14:15 equipped the next generation
14:17 with the tools necessary to
14:20 build more inclusive
14:23 communities, the young people
14:24 we engaged today will become
14:25 the community leaders,
14:28 educators, public servants,
14:30 business owners and parents of
14:33 tomorrow by teaching empathy,
14:36 leadership, civic engagement
14:37 and respect for differences.
14:40 Now we investing in the long
14:40 term prevention of hate and
14:43 bias before it takes root. All
14:46 told our programming at
14:48 opiates, which includes
14:50 interfaith engagement, youth
14:52 art projects, community
14:53 dialogues, anti hate education
14:55 and victim support services
14:56 helped build trust, strengthen
15:00 relationships across
15:02 communities support victims
15:03 and create opportunities for
15:04 New yorkers to engage across
15:07 differences before conflicts
15:10 occurs
15:11 . As part of the office of
15:11 community safety and with the
15:12 support of medium donny,
15:14 deputy Mayor francois and a
15:16 newly appointed commissioner
15:18 ,dr delaney brahms oop as she
15:19 is working closely with our
15:23 partner with parking offices
15:25 too strengthen coordination
15:26 ,shared dinner and best
15:28 practices and identifying New
15:30 opportunities to advance
15:33 community safety together w
15:34 eare helping shape a
15:36 coordinated approach.
15:36 To prevention that
15:38 recognizes the importance, the
15:40 important role community,
15:41 engagement, education and
15:43 relationship building play in
15:44 keeping New yorkers safe.
15:47 Me. Mm. Danny's historic
15:48 investment in opiate see will
15:51 allow us to expand and enhance