Upper East Side Lawmaker Hosting Town Hall On Antisemitism

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An Upper East Side lawmaker is hosting a virtual meeting this week devoted to the prevention of antisemitic hate crimes, following a series of unnerving incidents in the neighborhood.

Wednesday's town hall by City Councilmember Julie Menin is being co-hosted by the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the city's Commission on Human Rights and the state Attorney General's office. It will begin at 7 p.m., with Zoom registration required.

The impetus for the meeting, Menin's office says, is last month's startling discovery of $100 bill emblazoned with a swastika, withdrawn by a woman at an Upper East Side ATM. The January hostage standoff at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas was another factor, Menin's office said.

Last year, New York had the most reported instances of hate crimes against Jews of any U.S. state, according to a tally by the Anti-Defamation League.

In addition to Menin, speakers will include Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright; Michael Cohen, Eastern Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center; Melissa Eger, the commanding officer of the NYPD's 19th Precinct; and Rick Sawyer, special counsel on hate crimes at the state attorney general's office.

More information can be found on the flier below.