For Immediate Release
Release # 2007-099
New York City Council
City Hall, New York, NY 10007
(212) 788-7116

November 1st, 2007

Speaker Quinn, City Leaders Rally Against Hate Crimes
Announce Five-Borough Campaign to Raise Awareness, Fight Against Hate Crimes

New York, NY – In response to the growing number of hate crimes in New York City, Speaker Christine C. Quinn was joined today by a broad coalition of New Yorkers from the governmental, law enforcement, religious and advocacy communities to speak out against hate crimes. The City leaders announced an upcoming five-borough campaign against hate crimes, which will raise awareness of the impact of hate crimes in an effort to prevent future crimes from occurring.

The citywide “Day Out Against Hate” will feature events with key elected officials, community leaders and advocates. The day will kick off with an interfaith breakfast, bringing together community religious leaders including the Reverend Al Sharpton. Speaker Quinn and other City officials will also hold events in each borough, in schools, senior centers, and after school programs. The event is scheduled to take place on Thursday, November 29th.

Speaker Quinn stated, “In the most diverse city in the world, a city where diversity is viewed as a strength, we have zero tolerance for any who would single someone out simply because of who they are, or who they may be perceived to be. Be it swastikas in Brooklyn, nooses in Manhattan, or terrorizing someone because of their sexual orientation, New Yorkers will not stand idly by while threats are made against someone based upon their identity. Our Day Out Against Hate will be a chance to bring this message directly to communities in all five boroughs.”

New York City has experienced a rise in hate crimes citywide, with statistics indicating that there has been a 20.9 percent increase in hate crimes so far this year. Additionally, a recent survey sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League shows the number of Americans who hold anti- Semitic attitudes has remained constant since 2005.

“The trauma caused to our neighborhood by recent anti-Semitic actions was extreme, but I am pleased that the residents of our community all races and religions stood together to denounce these hateful actions,” said Rabbi Serge Lippe of Brooklyn Heights Synagogue.

In September, the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue was the site of a hate crime when swastikas were found painted across the walls of the building. The previous week, a total of twenty-three swastikas were found painted throughout the neighborhood and anti-Semitic leaflets were found throughout the area.

Most recently, New York has been plagued by the appearance of swastikas or nooses in places from Columbia University to Canarsie, Brooklyn, in Parks Department lockers and outside the Church Street Post Office. These incidents are assaults against our communities, and necessitate a vigorous response from all New Yorkers.

“Hate crimes are on the rise both in the city and in this country; which is one reason why Reverend Sharpton, Martin Luther King III and National Action Network are holding a march in Washington, DC on November 16th,” said Charlie King, Acting National Director of the National Action Network. “Here in New York, we have seen hate crimes on the rise, appearing everywhere from the Ivy Leagues in Manhattan, to the football leagues in Staten Island. We see this trend everywhere. We commend speaker Quinn for taking leadership on this important issue.”

“In New York City, ‘a proud home to everyone from everywhere,’ an attack against any group is an attack against us all,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. “Thankfully, events like this one sponsored by Speaker Quinn remind us that for every despicable violent act, or hurtful symbol emblazoned in ignorance, literally thousands of good deeds are exchanged in this great city each and every day, proving resoundingly what we know in our hearts-that here in New York, our diversity is indeed our strength.”

“I’d like to thank Speaker Quinn for bringing us together today, and I am happy to be here as the Borough President of the most multi-ethnic county in America,” said Queens Borough President Helen Marshall. “Hatred is born out of ignorance, and there is no room for it in Queens, in New York City, or anywhere else.”

“Staten Island is the safest borough in the City thanks in part to our Anti-Bias Task Force, which was formed by my office in 1997 to address bias crimes,” said Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro. “Our last meeting was on April 17 with local lawmakers, clergy, community leaders and concerned citizens. Although Staten Island is the fastest-growing borough in the City, our number of bias crimes has decreased dramatically, and we are working hard to keep it that way.”

“New York has a strong hate crimes law, but we need the resources to enforce it so that everyone gets the message that there's no place for these heinous acts in our society,” said Manhattan Borough President Stringer. “I applaud Chris Quinn for raising the profile of these crimes and calling on Congress to pass this important legislation. And I am proud to be part of this united front saying loud and clear that this behavior will not be tolerated. We will find and prosecute the people committing these crimes and put them where then belong - behind bars.”

Those present at today’s press conference included:
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz
Queens Borough President Helen Marshall
Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer
District Attorney Charles Hynes
Council Member Joe Addabbo
Council Member Leroy Comrie
Council Member Simcha Felder
Council Member Louis Fidler
Council Member Dan Garodnick
Council Member Jim Gennaro
Council Member Alan Gerson
Council Member John Liu
Council Member Michael McMahon
Council Member Helen Sears
Council Member Peter Vallone, Jr.
Council Member David Weprin
Council Member David Yassky
Nazli Parvizi, Commissioner of the Mayor's Community Assistance Unit
Charles King, Acting National Director, National Action Network
Sheikh Moussa Drammeh, Islamic Center of North America
Johnson Lee, Chinese Consolidated Business Association
Joel Levy, Anti-Defamation League
Michael Miller, Jewish Community Relations Council of New York
Bishop Angelo Rosario, Church of God’s Children
Mohinder Singh Tenja, Sikh Council on Religion and Education
Kyung Yoon, Korean American Community Foundation
Drew Taglibue, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
Reverend Terry Troia, Project Hospitality
Willie Rapfogel, Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty
Howie Beigelman, Orthodox Union
Michael Begun, Right of Begun
Reverend Dr. Shon T. Adkins, Antioch Baptist Church
Reverend Dr. Isaac Graham, Macedonia Baptist Church
Reverend Michael Faulkner, New Verizon Church
Reverend Johnnie McCann, Sr., St. Luke’s Baptist Church
Reverend Clinton Miller, Brown Memorial Church
Tony Baker, St. Phillips Missionary Baptist Church
Eric Ng, Chinese Consolidated Business Association
Tony Bruce, Michael Sandy Foundation
Chanter David Berger, Beth Simchat Torah
Rabbi Serge Lippe, Brooklyn Heights Synagogue
Safe Horizon
American Friends Service Committee
American Jewish Committee
Asian American Community Consultation
Association
Asian American for Equality
Chinatown Partnership Local Development Center
Federation of Indian Associations
Korean American Community Empowerment Council
Korean American League for Civic Action
Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York Inc.
New York State Chinese Auxiliary Police Association
New York Civil Liberties Union

###