NYC tackles discrimination after hate crimes spike
NYC is creating a Bias Response Team to help victims report harassment and assaults to police, officials announced Tuesday.
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New York City launched a campaign against discrimination and harassment Tuesday after a 30 percent rise this year in hate crimes and other forms of intolerance.
It features ads in English and Spanish in subway stations, social media and newspapers.
The initiative also boasts a hotline for people to report this kind of offenses and will create a team to monitor them and help victims.
"New York City will not stand for discrimination or harassment of any kind," said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
"NYC has been and always will be a welcoming city for all, regardless of who you are or what you believe and we intend to keep it that way."
De Blasio, a Democrat who will seek re-election in 2017, has pledged to protect undocumented foreigners from President-elect Donald Trump's plans to deport them.
Hate crimes shot up in 2016 mainly against Muslims, Jews, blacks, Latinos, Asians and the LGBT community, according to New York City police.
"Following the election, vulnerable communities continue to reach out to the City to report incidents of discrimination and bias," the mayor said in a statement.
He took pains not to say that this behavior had risen since Trump won election after a campaign in which he attacked Mexicans and Muslims in particular.
One in three people in New York City were born outside the US, city hall statistics show.
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