Spike in Hate
November 1st, 2007
While crime citywide heads down, hate crime has increased nearly 21 percent this year.
The stat was woefully cited at a press conference this morning on the steps of City Hall, where Council Speaker Christine Quinn, joined by scores of religious, political and civil rights leaders, announced a “Day Out Against Hate,” scheduled for November 29. The citywide remembrance is meant to strike back against numerous episodes of discrimination and hate that have sprouted throughout the city. The announcement came as another swastika was found painted on a Columbia professor’s door yesterday.
From swastikas on synagogues in Brooklyn Heights to nooses slung on doors at Columbia University, the “Day Out Against Hate,” said Quinn, will show copy-cat hate mongers that the spread of fear is not tolerated in the most diverse city in the world.
“If you are out there in this city and you think you can pick somebody out because of their race, their religion, their sexual orientation, their gender, their gender identity, their disability, ” said Quinn, who used to head up the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, “you commit that crime and the police department will find you, the district attorneys will prosecute you and you will be held accountable.”
“This is a city in which we will not allow hate to grow unchecked,” she added.
Some observed the more local hate crime incidents could have been sparked by a national controversy in Jena, La., where civil rights leaders have flocked and protests have erupted following the so-called discriminatory criminal charges filed against black high school students who beat a white student. The incidents could have triggered emotions simmering beneath the surface here in New York City.
Officials standing on the steps of City Hall today, including Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, agreed that reducing the recent spike in hate crime will take more than legislation, but instead a coordinated community outreach effort.
The day out will be jump started by a interfaith breakfast in the Bronx, where the Rev. Al Sharpton is expected to attend, and it will continue with events focusing on education and equality throughout the day in all five boroughs.
In addition to the day out, Councilmember Peter Vallone said he and Quinn would introduce a resolution calling on the state Assembly to pass legislation that would broaden the definition of a hate crime, which is a federal offense, to include hanging a noose. Currently the definition spans acts such as burning a cross. The state Senate has already approved the legislation, said Vallone.
By Courtney Gross on November 1, 2007, 12:35 pmIn category: Albany, Civil Rights, Crime, Education, Gotham City
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