Gov. Kathy Hochul looks to expand New York's hate crime laws
NEW YORK -- A stunning spike in hate crimes, including antisemitic graffiti on two stores in Westchester County on Wednesday night, has prompted Gov. Kathy Hochul to introduce legislation to dramatically expand the list of offenses eligible for hate crime prosecution.
It may surprise you but hateful graffiti, no matter how offensive, is apparently not eligible for prosecution as a hate crime under the present laws.
However, Hochul wants to change all that. Graffiti, arson, and criminal possession of a weapon are among more than two dozen offenses she wants categorized as hate crimes.
"This atmosphere of fear is becoming too pervasive," Hochul said.
READ MORE: Police seek vandal who spray-painted "genocide supporters" on Westchester County storefronts
The dramatic rise in attacks on people just because they are different has the governor demanding that the Legislature expand the number of offenses that can be charged as hate crimes.
She wants 31 new categories added to the 66 offenses that are already considered hate crimes. They include:
- Making graffiti
- Arson
- Gang assault
- First-degree rape
- Criminal possession of a weapon
- Sex trafficking
"Why should New Yorkers have to change their everyday lives because of fear of a hate crime?" Hochul said.
The move came just hours after two Jewish-owned businesses in the Golden Horseshoe shopping center on the New Rochelle-Scarsdale border were defaced with graffiti labeling the store owners "genocide supporters."
"The community is traumatized. You may think they're only words on a sign or across the storefront, but it tears at you as a human being when you know that attackful message, that hateful message, is meant for you," Hochul said.
The Kehilath Jeshrun Synagogue on the Upper East Side was defaced last summer. Video shows a man approaching the synagogue with a marker and writing antisemitic graffiti.
"We know that vandalism can escalate rapidly into violence," said Chaim Steinmetz, the senior rabbi at Kehilath Jeshrun.
There was a 90% increase in hate crime statewide between 2020 and 2022. The NYPD reported a 10% increase in hate crimes last year, with incident doubling in the last quarter following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7. Since the attack, there has been there as been a 425% increase in online hate speech against Jewish communities and a 417% increase against Muslim communities, according to the state's Division of Homeland Security.
"Islamophobia is a problem. And if it is a problem for us, it is a problem for you," said Imam Mansoor Rafiq Umar, CEO of Halal Watch World.
"It's not an exaggeration to say that almost every single person in the community has been, themselves, victimized," said Assemblywoman Grace Lee, who represents Chinatown.
The governor is also proposing to make $60 million in grants available to community organizations to increase their security.