Mayor Eric Adams told members of a Manhattan synagogue on Saturday that hate crimes dropped by 40 percent citywide last month, insisting he’s still a cop at heart whose administration has made fighting antisemitism a top priority.
During a 15-minute speech at Park East Synagogue in Lenox Hill, the retired NYPD captain cited new Police Department data showing there were 40 reported hate crimes in the Big Apple last month — a 40 percent decline from 67 in April 2021.
It’s a significant swing following the first three months of the year, which saw reported hate crimes rise from 96 to 142, or 48 percent, compared to the same period in 2021, according to NYPD records.
“I get it that you’re concerned about the antisemitism that has swept the entire world,” the mayor said. “We are going to move this city in the right direction.”
Before Adams addressed the crowd, the synagogue’s President Herman Hochberg encouraged members to “speak up and not be silent” about anti-Jewish crimes.
“A lesson was learned during World War II,” said Hochberg, obviously referring to the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. “We didn’t speak up enough.”
Adams – who is pushing for more crimes to become bail eligible — spent much of his speech addressing his administration’s desire for boosting overall public safety as well as calling on the public to support cops rather than “protect the bad guys.”
“What we are doing to police officers in the city is despicable,” the moderate Democrat said. “Men and women who have placed themselves in harm’s way.”
“I am still the police officer” who is “answering calls for service,” he said.
However, some members of the congregation were not impressed, saying they expected Adams to spend more time specifically addressing antisemitic and other hate crimes.
“The speech could have been more pertinent to the issues of anti-Semitism, which are prevalent in the city today,” said a peeved synagogue member.
“He claims anti-hate crimes have gone down, but we don’t feel it.”
