State resources will be deployed to protect New Yorkers following a recent increase in hate crimes, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday.
The governor said $50 million in grants will be available to local law enforcement agencies to investigate hate crimes, and another $25 million will be available for security funding for at-risk community groups, including houses of worship.
In addition to the funding, Hochul said, the New York State Police's social media analysis unit will be expanded to monitor threats on schools and college campuses, and Judge Jonathan Lippman, former chief judge of the state Court of Appeals, will launch an independent, comprehensive review of City of New York policies and procedures regarding discrimination, including antisemitism.
“The problem didn’t begin with the weeks following Oct. 7th’s attacks—it’s been growing on a number of campuses & seen most acutely in the City University of New York,” @GovKathyHochul is specifically targeting CUNY thanks to its troubling track record w/ discrimination response.
— Bernadette Hogan (@bern_hogan) October 31, 2023
The moves follow a rise in hate crimes in New York and nationwide after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel. That includes threatening statements about Jewish people on an internet discussion board at Cornell University, which prompted officials to send police to guard a Jewish center and kosher dining hall.
"When our shared values have been put to the test in the past, many New Yorkers have done what's right," Hochul said. "Today, Jewish New Yorkers are experiencing the greatest increase of antisemitic hate crimes in decades, and I must ask: Where are their allies now? You can vigorously oppose Israel's response following the attack on their people but still be vigorously opposed to terrorism, Hamas, antisemitism and hate in all of its forms."