Anti-Semitic crimes on the increase in NYC

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - According to officials, there have been 130 crimes targeting the Jewish community so far this year in New York City, compared to just 73 in all of 2018. Of that number, 121 involved swastikas being painted on Jewish buildings, places that will now have an increased NYPD presence.

Typically, the NYPD increases security around synagogues and other key locations during the upcoming holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, however this year the areas being patrolled are being expanded.

“If a case comes in, we are a reactive investigative unit. If a case comes in we are fully staffed and able to go out on something,” said Deputy Inspector Mark Molinari of the NYPD’s Hate Crime Taskforce.

The Hate Crime Task Force has also reported that physical attacks have increased as well. Authorities are currently searching for four suspects in connection to an attack on a 23-year-old Jewish man in Bed-Stuy on Tuesday night.

Mayor De Blasio and the NYPD have said that any person arrested for any hate crime will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.