New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday a major expansion of the city’s antisemitism prevention funding, proposing to increase the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes budget from roughly $3 million to $26 million annually beginning in 2027. City Hall said the proposal would form part of New York’s first comprehensive strategy to combat antisemitism, expected later this year.

Most of the new funding would go toward expanding existing anti-hate programs and grants for community organizations, including the city’s Partners Against Hate FORWARD initiative run alongside the NYC Commission on Human Rights. Officials said the final allocation details are still being finalized, but described the plan as a large-scale investment in prevention rather than only law enforcement response after incidents occur.

The announcement comes as antisemitism remains the largest category of reported hate crimes in New York City. According to NYPD data, antisemitic incidents accounted for 57% of all hate crimes reported in 2025. The Anti-Defamation League also said New York recorded the third-highest total of antisemitic incidents in its history last year despite an overall decline from 2024.

“Too often, the only response offered to a hate crime is exactly that, it’s a response,” Mamdani said while presenting the proposal. “Today we want to also do the work of preventing those hate crimes.”

The funding announcement followed renewed tensions surrounding anti-Israel demonstrations near Jewish institutions across the city, including clashes Monday night outside an event at a Shul in Brooklyn’s Midwood neighborhood. Mamdani condemned “antisemitic, anti-Muslim and racist rhetoric” following the incident while also defending the constitutional right to protest.

The ADL said Jews in New York “were targeted in more hate crimes than all other groups combined” last year and welcomed the mayor’s proposed “866% increase” in hate-crime prevention funding. The New York City Council recently also passed legislation requiring enhanced synagogue security planning and clearer NYPD response procedures around demonstrations near houses of worship.