On Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new Asian Hate Crime Task Force amid the uptick of incidents against Asian Americans since the start of the pandemic. 

Leaders within the Asian community tell News 12 this new division within the NYPD is a step forward, but they say its effectiveness depends on how the city goes about rolling it out. 

The new force comes as the city reports incidents against people of Asian descent, jumping from three in 2019 to 27 in 2020. 

Two have already been reported in 2021. 

Asian community advocates tell News 12 these numbers are much higher. They say many people are scared to report crimes because of their immigration status and because they may not be familiar with American laws and police procedures. 

The city says the new task force will have dedicated detectives and will focus on COVID-related hate crimes in and out of the Asian community. 

The NYPD adds that motivations not only stem from the victim's race but also from the attacker believing the victim has coronavirus. 

The mayor also pledged to seek out leaders in the Asian community to work with them to make sure the new task force is effective.