Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign promise to integrate community safety into city government remains underway. Last week, the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC), which he reshuffled under his new Mayor’s Office of Community Safety (OCS), awarded $120,000 in grant money to 13 local organizations to combat “hate, bias, and discrimination across all five boroughs.”
“This grant is a way for us to ensure that we are engaging those who are affected and most vulnerable to hate bias discrimination, and give them [the] opportunity to be part of the solution,” said OPHC Executive Director Vijah “VJ” Ramjattan, “and not just talk to communities about what hate bias discrimination is or how it can be prevented, but give them an opportunity through the Community Project Grants to showcase innovative ways from their lens [on] how we can partner with them to be ambassadors in their community to solve bias, hate, and discrimination.”
These Community Project Grants predate the Mamdani administration as a “flagship” initiative for OPHC, which was founded in 2019 and originally was under the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. Up to $10,000 goes to local organizations to address hate violence around the city across different communities. Projects range from anti-hate public education campaigns to efforts to help victims heal after an incident. Anyone age 14 and older can apply for a grant.
“This year’s grantees reflect the creativity, resilience, and leadership found in every corner of our city,” added OCS Commissioner Dr. Ayesha Delany-Brumsey in a statement. “From youth-led arts programs and disability-inclusion initiatives to interfaith dialogue and immigrant storytelling, these projects will help New Yorkers recognize bias, address conflict, and build the relationships that make communities safer.”
The programs fill in gaps left in the criminal legal justice system, since not every hate incident ends in conviction or even prosecution. In particular, these resources address populations that traditionally under-report experiences of hate violence to law enforcement, which include Black Americans.
Earlier this year, Mamdani established OCS after his original vision for a standalone Department of Community Safety stalled. Several smaller offices, like OPHC, the Office to End Domestic and Gender-based Violence, and the Office of Neighborhood Safety, were moved under this new parent agency. He appointed Delany-Brumsey, along with Deputy Mayor for Community Safety Renita Francois, to head these efforts.
Hate crime prevention played a central role in Mamdani’s campaign, particularly when addressing Jewish New Yorkers. OPHC funding expanded by $26 million this year. This week, the administration also announced the inaugural “Strategy to Combat Antisemitism.”
When Mamdani unveiled the campaign promise in spring 2025, he told the Amsterdam News that the then-Department of Community Safety proposal would allow public safety agencies to work together better. Ramjattan, who was appointed by Mamdani’s predecessor Eric Adams last year, said these ambitions are noticeable.
“A lot of our work is to break down silos,” said Ramajattan. “We don’t want to make our work to only meet specific communities because we [all] live and thrive across New York City, so government should reflect that as well … Now that we are in this Office of Community Safety, we see and we do feel the wraparound effect of providing a whole approach, a whole government approach to community when it comes to safety.”
