What to Know
- Hate crimes have risen across the city and tri-state in recent weeks, many of them targeting Jewish and Muslim people
- The NYPD said that hate crimes have spiked 31 percent this year compared to last year and that it is investigating dozens of such crimes
- On Sunday, hundreds of people gathered at a Brooklyn Heights park to denounce swastikas that were painted there
Bias incidents reported in New York City have jumped 400 percent during the two weeks since Republican Donald Trump was elected president compared to the same period last year.
NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill did, however, stop short of saying that Trump's victory played a role in what he described as a troubling trend on Tuesday.
O'Neill reported that NYPD officers have logged a total of 30 bias complaints since Trump defeated Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8. Six bias complaints were investigated during the same two weeks in 2015.
The NYPD has recorded 345 bias incidents so far this year.
O'Neill says a spike in graffiti, not violence, largely contributed to the increase.
Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce says he doesn't believe Trump's divisive campaign rhetoric has fueled the bias crimes.
The news comes after a rally Monday where Mayor de Blasio called for New York to be "an example" for the rest of the nation.
Gov. Cuomo said Sunday that he has directed state police to create a special unit to investigate reports of hate crimes in New York. He also announced a hotline for reporting bias and discrimination
