UJO thanks the Mayor for opening the office to combat hate crimes including anti-Semitism. Thank you to Councilman Chaim Deutsch for passing the law to establish the office and to Speaker Corey Johnson for supporting it.
Brooklyn, NY – Mayor Bill de Blasio officially launched the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC) months ahead of the official deadline. Earlier this year the City Council passed, and the Mayor signed into law, legislation to establish the OPHC. Embedded in the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, the OPHC will take a holistic approach to preventing hate crimes, developing and coordinating community-driven prevention strategies to address biases fueling anti-Semitism and other such crimes, and fostering healing for victims and their communities. Headed by Deborah Lauter, the new Executive Director of the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, the new office will coordinate city efforts to prevent and respond to hate crimes through an interagency committee, which includes the NYPD, City Commission on Human Rights, Department of Education, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
OPHC will work to address the underlying factors driving hate
crimes of all types, and against all targeted communities, through proactive
outreach to community groups and coordinated intervention efforts among
government agencies to deploy resources before incidents occur.
“There is a surge of hate
crimes in the city," says Rabbi David
Niederman, President of the UJO of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn, "and many of those crimes are directed at Orthodox Jews living in
Williamsburg, Borough Park, Crown Heights, and other large Orthodox
communities. More needs to be done so Jews can freely walk the streets without
being afraid of being attacked and terrorized because of their faith. Opening
the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes well ahead of schedule is a very
positive step and demonstrates the Mayor’s commitment to addressing this
growing problem immediately. We look forward to working with the office under
the leadership of its Executive Director Deborah Lauter.”
UJO publicly thanks
Councilman Chaim Deutsch, Chairman of the Jewish Caucus who passed the law in City
Council to establish and fund the new office for
Hate Crimes Prevention. UJO also extends thanks to Speaker Corey Johnson for spoking up in support of
the office and coming down to Williamsburg after a series of anti-Semitic attacks
in the area to call, together with UJO, for the establishment of this office.
