New York, NY – In response to the City Council’s passage of Intros 001 and 175, Audrey Sasson, Executive Director of Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ) released the following statement on behalf of the organization:

We’re extremely disappointed that the City Council voted to pass Intros 001b and 175b, bills that serve to generate headlines and convey concern, but not to materially make our city safer for all New Yorkers, including Jews. At best, the legislation changes little. At worst, it restricts New Yorkers’ free speech rights and empowers the NYPD to engage in discriminatory policing of protest outside houses of worship and educational facilities. 

Instead of delivering solutions to the terrible problem of antisemitism and hate violence, the council today delivered political theater that further isolates Jews from our neighbors at a moment when we need solidarity more than ever. This political theater did not even purport to address the recent horrifying increase in Islamophobic violence targeting Muslim women. If the council is serious about making all New Yorkers safer, they should invest in the evidence-based recommendations laid out in JFREJ’s NYC Against Hate Violence policy platform, which calls for $26-30 million in funding for non-carceral hate violence prevention, and was recently endorsed by the Progressive Caucus.  

We’re grateful to all the council members who listened to civil liberties advocates and voted against 001b and 175b. We urge the mayor to veto both bills, and we urge Mayor Mamdani and the entire City Council to fund the NYC Against Hate Violence policy platform in the FY27 budget.

Background: On Thursday, March 19, community-based organizations and elected officials gathered on the steps of City Hall to unveil NYC Against Hate Violence: a comprehensive report and policy proposal from JFREJ in consultation with community partners detailing how the city government can and should invest $26-30 million in non-carceral hate violence prevention to address the crisis of hate violence in our city, and keep all New Yorkers safe.

Hate violence presents a complex challenge that cannot be solved through policing alone. Over the past decade, the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force has been the city’s primary tool for fighting identity-based violence. On their watch, hate crimes have only increased. Even as crime in the city has fallen, hate crimes have only increased, up 152% in 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. The NYC Against Hate Violence report pulls from a robust, research-based source of supporting evidence (including research on social psychology and social dynamics in conflict zones around the world) to ground proposed hate violence prevention tactics in rigorous data. The ensuing recommendations are for New York City to make a fundamental shift away from reactive policing and unreliable reporting systems, and toward evidence-based, community-driven relationship-building strategies. The recommendations outline a new prevention paradigm built around five pillars: reinvented reporting, proactive relationship development, capacity-building, community care and violence interruption, and anti‑bias education. The cost is estimated to be $26-30 million per year.

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Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ) is a 6,000-member grassroots organization and the home of New York’s Jewish Left. For over 35 years, JFREJ members have organized alongside our neighbors to transform New York from a playground for the wealthy few into a real democracy, free from all forms of racist violence.