A jarring rise of hate crimes across New York City has city council leaders fighting back. The council moved to pass a package of bills aimed at strengthening the safety and protections around congregations and classrooms.

It's a part of the council's action plan to combat hate. The package of bills would require the NYPD to publicly outline how they plan to handle protests that pose risks of intimidation or obstruction outside houses of worship and schools, expand emergency-planning support for religious and non-profit institutions, mandate new social media safety education and establish a hotline to track discriminatory incidents.

"We're seeing skyrocketing incidents of antisemitism really all across the city. When a swastika is painted into a playground, one swastika is too many. There were 70 swastikas painted onto that playground. I went out to see it myself. Personally. It's shocking. It really shocks the conscience. So something has to be done," said City Council Speaker Julie Menin, referencing an incident that happened at a Brooklyn playground earlier this year.

NYPD data shows a staggering spike in hate crimes reported this year, up 152% this January compared to January 2025. Anti-Jewish hate crimes make up more than half of hate crimes reported, up 182% in January compared to last.

Outside City Hall, advocates rallied against the bills, saying any action to restrict protesting restricts their freedom of speech.

“The City Council bills are an attack on free speech and a surefire way to stifle constitutionally protected, peaceful political protest,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the NYCLU, “By deploying the NYPD to establish no-speech zones across all five boroughs, these bills will flood our streets with cops for no reason and potentially curtail the hard-fought, vital civil rights protections solidified in the 2024 Payne protest settlement. As the federal government targets, arrests, and even murders ordinary citizens for peaceful protest, New York City lawmakers must defend the First Amendment — yes, even for ideas they don’t like — and reject these ill-advised bills. Stifling New Yorkers’ speech is exactly what Trump and his goons want, and city lawmakers should under no circumstances be actively aiding their authoritarian effort.”

The bill to establish buffer zones outside schools and educational centers passed, but not with a majority, meaning Mayor Zohran Mamdani could veto it.