By COLlive staff
Photos: Shimi Kutner
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today the creation of new multi-ethnic interfaith Neighborhood Safety Coalitions, increased NYPD presence, and new Department of Education lesson plans and curriculum as part of the City’s commitment to the prevention of hate crimes and anti-Semitic attacks. In addition to an immediate increased NYPD presence, the new Neighborhood Safety Coalitions will have physical presences in the community with neighborhood safety walks and corner watches. They will also offer ongoing programming designed to promote tolerance and break down stereotypes.
“Fearing the next act of terror will not become the new normal for our Jewish neighbors. In New York City, diversity is our strength and we respect the traditions of all who call New York City home. Intolerance will never take hold here,” said Mayor de Blasio.
Increased NYPD Patrols and Safety Measures
The NYPD will increase resources and patrols to precincts in Borough Park, Midwood, Crown Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Williamsburg. Each precinct will have an additional 4 to 6 officers per tour. In addition to an increased NYPD presence at houses of worship and during local events, six new light towers will be posted in Borough Park and additional security cameras will be installed throughout these neighborhoods. 15 light towers have already been installed this month.
Neighborhood Safety Coalitions
Neighborhood Safety Coalitions will launch in Williamsburg, Crown Heights, and Borough Park, and will be overseen by the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes. These individual coalitions will identify and address issues that drive hate-based crimes, bringing together stakeholders from across their communities. They will meet community members where they are — in schools, on street corners, in religious institutions — to be a regular presence to deter acts of hate.
Each coalition will gather regularly to strategize about ways to interrupt hate acts before they happen. The coalitions will identify and offer programming within their neighborhoods that foster community and connect directly with local youth in and after school hours.
The coalitions are based on a successful model already used by residents in East Flatbush and Williamsburg/Bushwick through the Mayor’s Office to Prevent Gun Violence, in which community groups, neighborhood leaders, and clergy have worked together with local police precincts to dramatically reduce gun violence in their communities.
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DOE Curriculum
The DOE is committed to ensuring schools are welcoming, inclusive environments for all students and will be implementing hate crime awareness programming next month for middle and high schools in Williamsburg, Crown Heights and Borough Park, including workshops with community partners and leveraging existing social studies curricula and resources. Curriculum on hate crimes will be launched at middle and high schools in these neighborhoods beginning in the 2020-21 school year. These curriculum resources will also be available to middle and high schools citywide.
Citywide, the DOE will distribute resources to facilitate important conversations in the classroom in January, and the annual Respect for All week in February will focus on preventing and addressing hate crimes. Schools are encouraged to develop opportunities for students to discuss what discrimination and religious intolerance might look like in a school and collectively explore the positive actions they can take to promote acceptance, inclusion, and the diversity of their communities.
Citywide Advertising Campaign
The City will launch a series of advertising and social media campaigns to highlight the City’s diversity and encourage respect for all communities.
“The NYPD stands with members of the Jewish community. We will continue our increased patrols and the targeted deployment of Counterterrorism officers at key locations to ensure that everyone is safe,” said Police Commissioner Dermot Shea. “We also need the public’s help—if you see anything suspicious, call 911 or flag down a police officer right away. There is no place for hate in NYC, or anywhere.”
“Safety, for every community, remains the City’s highest priority. The Neighborhood Safety Coalitions announced today are grounded in the strength of New Yorkers themselves, working together to prevent the acts that hurt us all. This neighborhood-based work is key to us remaining true to who we are: a safe city that celebrates diversity and condemns hate,” said Liz Glazer, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.
“A critical part of our work is engaging directly with the communities impacted by anti-Semitism,” said Deborah Lauter, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes. “The neighborhood coalitions will help further New York City’s commitment to diversity and respect for all and ensure every New Yorker feel safe in their community.”
“Schools are safe havens, and all students deserve a learning environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and free from discrimination. We’ll be providing programming and resources to schools in order for students and school communities to engage in thoughtful and respectful dialogue, and to advance learning about hate crimes through historical context and current events. We look forward to partnering with city agencies and community organizations on this critical work. There is no place for hate in our schools,” said Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza.
“These further actions by Mayor DeBlasio are necessary and helpful as an urgently needed response to the appalling spate of anti-Semitic attacks in and around New York City. I spoke earlier today with the FBI and urged them to work with NYPD and other law enforcement to fully investigate the series of hate crimes and to decipher if there is any connection between them. I will work with the mayor and community leaders to face down this hate and to protect all New Yorkers from unacceptable threats,” said Senator Chuck Schumer.
ALL THESE RESOURCES THAT THE AUTHORITIES CLAIM THEY WILL ENACT TO ENHANCE OUR SAFETY ARE ALL FOR NAUGHT. AS LONG AS THE LIBERAL JUDGES RULE THE BENCH ,LIBERAL MAYORS RULE THE CITY, MAJORITY OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE LIBERAL, AND POLITICIANS TREAD LIGHTLY OUT OF DREAD IN PROSECUTING ANY ETHNICITY BE IT AS IT IS, THE PERPETRATORS WILL CONTINUE WITH THEIR NEFARIOUS ACTIONS. ALL WE HEAR IN MOST CASES IS CHARGED AND RELEASED WITHOUT BAIL. SOME OF THESE PEOPLE WERE CONVICTED 10-20 TIMES , AND THE JUDGES STILL LET THEM WALK. THEY HAVE NO FEAR OF ANY RECRIMINATION-PERP BEATS UP… Read more »
if you believe everything he said & promised you are a fool! worse yet the smiling faces of the phonies sucking up yet again. cameras will not help & have not helped as even with the perps etc. on camera they won’t catch them as is so how will more cameras help More empty towers just like the empty truck sitting by the corner of kIngston & eastern parkway that is frequently unmanned there is a failure willful at that to make the efforts to first catch these criminals & as we know the new laws will put them back… Read more »
In the absence of decent citizens having legal access to guns, try krav maga and other forms of self defense. Carrying a baseball bat is a good idea.
So if Rikers will be closing, where do you put the criminals ? Does eliminating cash bail eliminate the deterrent effect of jail time ? Does the new Raise the Age Law (promoted by former Sen Jessie Hamilton), which raises the age of majority to 18, and which essentially allows 16 or 17 years with most misdemeanor crimes ( like knockout attacks – second degree assault) help make the Jewish community safer, when those 16 or 17 years will now go to a Family Court Judge who will send the perp to a social worker, rather than Criminal Court and… Read more »
Patrols don’t work as well as holding perps once they have been detained.
Jews carrying heat will work better than more cops.
Remember Ralph Nimins? We can be sure he won’t commit any more crimes. That’s the only way to handle these thugs.
stop talking and do!!!
Same old, different day.
Did I miss something about Nimins?
photo ops,people and empty rhetoric!
The police have become social workers. A society where there is no fear of the law because there is no law. Unless we all register to vote and vote in mass we will be the victims. Politicians only care to be re elected. Guns will not hep because shooting a perp will only cause you aggravation as you get arrested or sued. Trump 2020 and outvote every democrat on every level. We can do it with the help of Above. We just need every frum yid to unite.