Hundreds Of Hate Crimes Have Been Reported In NYC This Year

NEW YORK — Vandalism at two Brooklyn synagogues and a monument to African-Americans was part of a recent hate crime spike in New York City, NYPD figures show. A total of 309 hate crimes have been reported this year as of Sunday, up about 4 percent from 297 in the same period last year.

More than half of them have targeted Jewish people — the NYPD had recorded 159 anti-Semitic crimes as of Sunday, up 22 percent from 130 last year.

That period included the recent string of anti-Semitic graffiti that struck a Prospect Heights synagogue and several homes in Brooklyn Heights. Police are also searching for a group of kids who allegedly threw a pipe through a Bed-Stuy temple's window.

"Increased reports of swastikas and other criminal mischief here in the five boroughs absolutely concern us, and none of it — none of it will ever be tolerated in New York City," Police Commissioner James O'Neill said Wednesday.

The city was on track to end the year with fewer hate crimes than 2017, but a "notable uptick" in the last month has driven up the numbers, according to the NYPD.

Crimes targeting African-Americans have also increased with 37 reported as of Sunday, up from 30 last year, NYPD figures show. That apparently includes the racial slur scrawled on the African Burial Ground National Monument in Lower Manhattan last week.

The increase marks a continuation of what's been called a sustained spike in hate crimes in the city since President Donald Trump's election. And it comes amid the horrific October massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue in which an anti-Semitic shooter killed 11 people.

Some officials have tied Trump to the recent spate of attacks. O'Neill pointed to the "current atmosphere" when asked why the uptick was occurring, but didn't mention the president in particular.

"We can’t get into people’s minds or hearts, but we can certainly do our best to try to stop them," O'Neill said. "And we do that by actively investigating them with our hate crimes task force and by working in conjunction with everybody in the community.

"I think everybody in the city's got a responsibility to help make sure that this doesn't happen."

The NYPD's relationships with local communities help police get information that can help them stop crimes, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

Cops have arrested alleged perpetrators in some of the recent incidents — including 26-year-old James Polite, a onetime intern for former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn who's accused of writing "Die Jew Rats" at Union Temple in Brooklyn last week. Police are also examining surveillance video to track the African Burial Ground vandal.

"If the propagators of hate crimes see that there are consequences for others, if they see that justice is swift, it's another important factor in inhibiting other hate crimes," de Blasio said.

(Lead image: Police Commissioner James O'Neill speaks at a press conference in November 2017. Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)