NYC Mayor Announces Initiative, Partnership with Six Organizations to Tackle Hate Crimes

May 28, 2021

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Deborah Lauter, executive director of the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC), officially launched the Partners Against the Hate (P.A.T.H.) FORWARD initiative that will help tackle hate crimes in New York City.

The initiative will consist of a partnership with six anchor organizations selected by the city to help reduce bias crimes and expand reporting and services for victims, an announcement explained on Thursday.

The six organizations: The following organizations will work closely with the OPHC and city agencies to help with the problem.

Anti-Violence Project
Arab American Association of New York
Asian American Federation
Hispanic Federation
Jewish Community Relations Council
67th Precinct Clergy Council

Initiative details: The program will include a $3 million funding that will be distributed to the six organizations.

The organizations will serve as judges when awarding the OPHC Hate Crime Prevention Innovation Grants, which range from $5,000 to $20,000.
The money will be distributed to individuals, organizations and academic institutions to “develop projects aimed at reducing hate violence and promoting community respect.”

Other details: Jo-Ann Yoo, executive director of the Asian American Federation, believes one of the solutions in dealing with racism and hate is to partner up with other marginalized communities.

“The way out of this is for ALL New Yorkers to come together and support each other. It’s all of us against racism!” she said.
Frankie Miranda, president and CEO of Hispanic Federation, commended New York leaders for setting up the initiative to tackle the rising cases of hate crimes in the city.
“We share in the visceral reaction to the ongoing upsurge of xenophobic acts of violence,” he said. “For far too long, our communities have carried the undue burden of relentless bigoted rhetoric in public disclosure towards communities of color.
City officials deployed all-Asian undercover officers on the streets of New York in March as part of its effort to combat racially motivated crimes.
New York had the highest number of anti-Asian hate crimes recorded for the first quarter of 2021.

Featured Image via South China Morning Post

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