City leaders push for programs, funding to fight anti-Semitic hate crime spike

City Council members and Jewish leaders are looking for new ways to combat the recent spike in anti-Semitic hate crimes in the city.
Police say anti-Semitic hate crimes rose 82 percent in the first four months of this year. Council members are now pushing to fund programs that they say could help combat the issue.
The Council has passed legislation to create the Office of Hate Crime Prevention, which would do outreach and training in the community and educate residents on the impact and effects of hate crimes.
Council members say they're pushing for the program to be fully funded in the 2020 fiscal-year budget.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson says he’ll continue to speak out about what he calls an unacceptable number of anti-Semitic attacks.