Break the hate!
Pols rip Bill silence on bias crimes
The de Blasio administration has been too quiet in the face of a troubling spike in hate crimes, Jewish and other elected officials charged Thursday.
Brooklyn Councilman David Greenfield contrasted City Hall’s muted public response in the wake of a 39 percent spike in anti Semitic crimes this year with the leadership of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who headlined a rally against such incidents in her country this week.
“There needs to be more resources, there needs to be more understanding, there needs to be more outspoken[ness] from the other side of City Hall,” Green field said at a rally on the steps of the building. “It’s unacceptable — more needs to be done.”
Local officials decried the wave of antiSemitic events in Europe and elsewhere as they highlighted an increase in incidents across the five boroughs — from 64 at this point last year to 89 so far in 2014.
They pointed out that antiMuslim incidents, while fewer, have also increased, from 7 to 17.
Overall, hate crimes are up from 192 last year to 224 this year — an increase of nearly 17 percent through Sept. 14.
Several of the elected officials called for a more visible police presence and beefing up the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force.
City Hall officials disputed claims that they’re not doing enough, noting they coordinated an NYPD meeting with more than 300 Jewish leaders just days ago about security for the coming High Holy Days.
They said senior members of the administration have been in regular contact with precincts following incident reports — and have even made house calls in impacted areas.
Aides to Mayor de Blasio also highlighted statements he put out condemning an antiSemitic shooting in Kansas and two hate crimes — one against Jews, one against Muslims — in Brooklyn in July.
“To suggest this mayor is not sensitive to or responsive to antiSemitism ignores Mayor de Blasio’s long history of standing up against hatred and intolerance in all its forms,” said mayoral aide Avi Fink. “The assertion is absurd.”
While Police Commissioner Bill Bratton earlier this week attributed much of the spike in incidents to increased tensions caused by Mideast fighting this summer, several elected officials said the data do not support that theory.
They noted that since a truce took hold last month in Gaza, antiSemitic and antiMuslim attacks here — including serious assaults — have surged even faster.