Advocacy groups attend meeting to discuss hate crimes

Attendees gathered at the Muslim Community Network’s meeting Tuesday night in response to hate crimes around the world.

“Most recently why we had to hold this event, the [United Kingdom] riots really escalated hate and bias across the Atlantic but we know our city has a lot of those precursors here,” Husein Yatabarry, executive director for the Muslim Community Network, said.

According to NYPD data, 131 arrests and 329 hate crimes were reported from January through June of this year.

Organizers say the hate crimes reported since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 show a need for more dialogue and awareness.

Yatabarry shared some of the calls the organization has received recently.

“We’ve gotten horrendous stories of hijab pulling people being attacked, people being chastised in the streets for being Muslim and wearing articles of clothing that they are Muslim externally,” Yatabarry said.

Organizers welcomed people from all communities and faiths to take part in Tuesday’s discussion. They discussed hate crimes affecting many faiths and cultures, from Muslims and Jews to non-Muslim Arabs, Sikhs and Hindus.

One board member of the self-described “anti-violence” organization Malikah told NY1 they’ve seen a greater interest in self-defense training since Oct. 7.

“We focus on women’s empowerment and self defense and protection in public spaces especially in New York City there are a lot of Muslim women and there are a lot of spaces that are not safe for women that are visibility Muslim,” Fawzia Syed, board member of Malikah, said.

A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams released a statement in response to the meeting.

“Mayor Eric Adams has been clear: Hate has no place in our city. He has repeatedly condemned both hate crimes and hate speech in the strongest terms possible and has spoken out about hate against a wide spectrum of cultures and religions,” a spokesperson for the mayor wrote.

According to NYPD data, there are 53 more reported hate crime incidents this year than this time last year.