New York City's Democratic mayoral nominee, Zohran Mamdani, has proposed a controversial plan to transfer the handling of hate crimes from the New York Police Department (NYPD) to his proposed "Department of Community Safety" (DCS).
This proposal has sparked concern among both advocates and victims of hate crimes.
During a press conference held last Wednesday, Mamdani addressed the recent Manhattan shooting that resulted in the death of an NYPD officer and three civilians. He outlined the responsibilities of the DCS, which would include handling gun violence prevention, homelessness, mental health crises, hate crimes, and victims' services.
According to the DCS guide available on Mamdani's campaign website, the department would combat hate crimes through the implementation of "restorative justice processes," "community-based bystander training," and the deployment of "mental health navigators."
The guide states, "The DCS will oversee stronger, more effective solutions to hate violence, investing in approaches that prevent violence through education and community-building, interrupt violence through community-based bystander training and rapid response at the local level, and repair damage through restorative justice, counseling, and peer support."
However, several survivors of hate crimes have expressed their concerns to the Washington Free Beacon about the potential implications of having the DCS, rather than the NYPD, respond to such incidents. Joey Borgen, a 33-year-old New York City resident and accountant, was brutally attacked in broad daylight in Times Square by a mob of Islamists affiliated with the pro-Hamas organization, Within Our Lifetime (WOL), in May 2021.
"The NYPD saved my life," Borgen told the Free Beacon. "If the NYPD werent there, I wouldnt be talking to you right now. Just straight up, like, they saved my life."
Borgen's case was initially handled by Alvin Bragg, the George Soros-funded district attorney of Manhattan, who initially planned to offer plea deals. However, Bragg changed his course after Borgen testified at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Bragg's conduct.
Interestingly, Mamdani, who has also received support from Soros and his political network, has been seen participating in at least one WOL event. Borgen pointed out this connection, stating, "Zohran has stood side by side with the same hate group that almost killed me."
According to a source familiar with the data, a majority of hate crime incidents in New York City target Jews. Of the 641 reported hate crimes in 2024, 345 targeted Jews, and of the 300 reported hate crimes so far in 2025, 170 have targeted Jews.
Noa Cochva, the winner of Miss Israel 2021, shared her fears about a potential Mamdani victory with the Free Beacon. Cochva, who was assaulted by a pro-Hamas agitator in March 2024 and faced a knife attack at an anti-Israel rally two months later, said, "I think it will be really devastating. It can really affect the way people feel safety in the city. And a lot of people will not feel safe because of it."
Democratic state assemblyman Kalman Yeger, who represents a heavily Orthodox Jewish district in Brooklyn that has experienced a surge of anti-Semitic attacks, expressed his concern about the proposed shift in jurisdiction.
Yeger told the Free Beacon, "Crime is investigated by law enforcement and then prosecuted by the district attorney, just like the TV shows say. And there is no way to investigate crime without law enforcement. What youre suggesting is that hate crimes ought to be dealt with by bureaucrats in some other to-be-named-later agency which is not law enforcement."
Following Mamdani's victory in the Democratic mayoral primary election, Yeger publicly urged his constituents who could afford to leave New York City to do so, warning, "Your childrens lives and future will depend on the choices you make now."
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