Crown Heights activist, Honorary NYPD Commissioner of Community Safety and Chair of the Board of the Commission to Combat Antisemitism Chair and the NYPD Civilian Hate Crimes Review Panel Devorah Halberstam hosted an impressive gathering of leading political, law enforcement, legal, community and media figures at her annual Sukkah celebration during Chol Hamoed Sukkos.

The annual gathering, held in Halberstam’s Sukkah in Crown Heights, brought together officials from the city, state and federal levels, along with law enforcement representatives, Jewish communal leaders, attorneys, members of the media, family and friends.

Among the prominent guests were New York Governor Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and former City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who is running for Lieutenant Governor alongside Hochul.

Deputy Commissioner Alden Foster of the Community Affairs Bureau; Ryan Merola, Chief of Staff to the Police Commissioner; Chief of Housing Charles McEvoy; Assistant Chief Charles Minch of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South; Assistant Chief Mark Vazquez of Patrol Borough Brooklyn North; Inspector Igor Pinkhasov of Patrol Borough Queens North; Inspector Thomas Smith of Patrol Borough Manhattan South; Assistant Chief Andrew Arias of the Detective Bureau’s Citywide Investigations Unit; Inspector Gary Marcus of the Detective Bureau’s Special Victims Unit; Inspector Adeel Rana of the Counterterrorism Division; Inspector Jason Hagestad of the Citywide Counterterrorism Unit; and Inspector Omar Birchwood, Commanding Officer of the 77th Precinct, Captain Bekim Becaj, CO of NYPD hate crimes task force.

Governor Hochul addressed the gathering, speaking about her commitment to combating antisemitism and protecting New York’s Jewish community. Hochul said the issue is deeply personal to her as a mother and grandmother, and that she understands the concern felt by members of the Jewish community knowing that their children, grandchildren and other loved ones can be subjected to harassment and antisemitic incidents in their daily lives. She pledged to continue standing with Jewish New Yorkers and confronting antisemitism.

Also attending were Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Kim Council and City Council Members Crystal Hudson, Lincoln Restler and Rita Joseph, as well as Greg Ehrie, Chief Security Officer of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Deputy Inspector Sony Beauvoir, 67th Precinct Commanding Officer, Deputy Inspector John Dasaro, 71st Precinct Commanding Officer, Captain Duran McLean, 67th Precinct Executive Officer, Captain Ryan Vautrinot, 71st Precinct Executive Officer, Lieutenant Ralph Postiglione, Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, Lieutenant Casey Kolokithias, Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, Sergeant Michael Baratta, 71st Precinct, Sergeant Viktoria Fiandola, 71st Precinct Detective Squad, Detective Marina Genin, Hate Crimes Task Force, Detective Evan Lavin, Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, Detective Kenneth Melendez, Patrol Borough Brooklyn North, Police Officer Yannifer Sandy, 67th Precinct, Detective Jonathan Connors, 71st Precinct, Police Officer Shatoya Braddy, 71st Precinct, Police Officer Meir Green, Patrol Borough Brooklyn South.

Representing federal offices were Patti Lubin, Senior Counsel and Senior Advisor to U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand; Sam Adelsberg and Jamie Bagliebter, Assistant U.S. Attorneys and Co-Chiefs of the Civil Rights Division for the Southern District of New York; and Eli Slavin, liaison to Congresswoman Clarke.

Governor Hochul’s office was represented by Jake Adler, Assistant Secretary for Constituency Affairs and Director of Jewish Affairs, and Eva Wyner, Deputy Director of Jewish Affairs.

Also joining the celebration were Phylisa Wisdom, Director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, and Josh Binderman, Deputy Director of the office; Pinnie Hikind, advisor to City Comptroller Mark Levine; Jacob Eisdorfer, senior advisor to Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso; and David Kletzick, senior advisor to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.

The gathering also included prominent figures from the legal and public safety communities, among them Alan Vinegrad, former U.S. Attorney and senior counsel at Covington & Burling; attorney Benjamin Brafman of Brafman & Associates; and Dr. Pia Hargrove, a member of the civilian hate crimes review panel.

Jewish communal leaders in attendance included Mark Treyger, CEO of JCRC-NY; Rabbi Joseph Potasnik of the New York Board of Rabbis; Rabbi Yerachmiel Benjaminson, Executive Director of the Jewish Children’s Museum; Shmuel Rosenstein of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council; Scott Richman, Director of ADL New York/New Jersey; David Pollock, Director of CSI; Yehudit Barsky of ISGAP; NYPD Chaplain Rabbi Kogan; Josh Mehlman, Chairman of FJCC; and Yeruchim Silber of Agudath Israel.

A large contingent of prominent New York media figures also attended, including Joe Marino of the New York Post; Chelsia Marcius of The New York Times; Melissa Russo and Jonathan Dienst of NBC; Carol D’Aurio and Shimon Segal of 1010 WINS; Liz Rozner of CBS News; Myles Miller of Bloomberg News; Or Shaked of Israel Hayom; Toni Williams, producer of the Brooklyn Savvy talk show and Judy Rapfogel, Principal at GrandRap Strategies.

The annual celebration has become a Sukkos tradition bringing together elected officials, law enforcement leaders, members of the media and Jewish communal figures in the heart of Crown Heights, providing an opportunity to strengthen longstanding relationships and build greater cooperation between government agencies and the Jewish community.

Guests mingled throughout the evening in the festive atmosphere of Sukkos, joined by Halberstam’s family and friends.