NYPD Increases Security at Mosques Before Ramadan Amid Hate Crimes Uptick

By Trevor Kapp, ONE POLICE PLAZA — The NYPD is beefing up security at mosques and Islamic cultural centers across the city before the start of Ramadan next week as hate crimes against Muslims are up 33 percent so far this year. “Let me be clear — none of this is acceptable,” NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill told a group of Muslim community leaders at a pre-Ramadan ceremony at police headquarters Tuesday. There had been 178 hate crimes committed across the boroughs through Sunday, compared to 114 through the same point last year — a 56 percent spike, according to NYPD statistics. Of those 178 hate crimes, 12 had been committed against Muslims, compared to nine at this point last year, the stats show. Anti-Semitic hate crimes have spiked even more dramatically, with 87 occurring through Sunday, compared to 47 at that point last year, according to the statistics. “Bias crimes have no place in our city,” O’Neill said. “This is an issue we continue to take very seriously.” dnainfo.com/new-york