De Blasio charts ‘PATH Forward’ toward
combating New York City hate crimes
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
In an effort to combat hate crimes in
New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio
and Offi ce for the Prevention of Hate
Crimes (OPHC) Executive Director Deborah
Lauter announced a new initiative that
is meant to let the community help in these
matters.
Called Partners Against the Hate
(P.A.T.H.) Forward, the program will
provide funding and support to six anchor
organizations to promote community-based
approaches to reduce hate crimes as well
as expanding hate crime reporting and
services for victims.
“In New York City, we do not tolerate
hate, violence, or bigotry in any form,”
said de Blasio on May 27. “As we drive a
recovery for all of us, we must lift up the
community leaders standing up against
America’s hate epidemic. We are taking
action to make sure the hate in our beloved
city is eliminated—once and for all.”
The P.A.T.H. Forward program will include
$3 million in funding for distribution
to the following organizations selected by
the city: the Anti-Violence Project, the Arab
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC)
Executive Director Deborah Lauter announce the launch of the Partners
Against the Hate (P.A.T.H.) FORWARD initiative to help combat bias-motivated
incidents and hate crimes in New York City.
American Association of New York, the
Asian American Federation, the Hispanic
NYC MAYORAL PHOTOGRAPHY UNIT
Federation, the Jewish Community Relations
Council, and the 67th Precinct Clergy
Council. These organizations will work
closely with the OPHC and other city agencies
to create a comprehensive, communitybased
approach to combat and preventing
hate crimes in the city.
The anchors of the initiative will also be
judges in awarding OPHC Hate Crime Prevention
Innovation Grants, which will be
distributed on a revolving basis throughout
the year in an effort to encourage individuals,
organizations, and academic institutions
to use their entrepreneurial skills to
develop projects that aim to reduce hate
violence and promote community respect.
“There is not one way to stop hate: it
takes a multi-pronged approach that includes
strong laws and their enforcement,
education to stop biases that fuel hate
violence, and healthy community relations,”
said Lauter. “Through the Offi ce
for the Prevention of Hate Crimes’s P.A.T.H
Forward initiative, New York City is committing
signifi cant resources to support
the diverse communities that are the most
vulnerable to acts of hate. We are optimistic
that this initiative will have a signifi cant,
long-term impact that ensures all New
Yorkers feel respected and safe.”
Examining the COVID-19 vaccination rates in NYC
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
More than half of all New York
City adults have received at
least one dose of the COVID-19
vaccine, but the latest fi gures from the
city’s Health Department shows signifi -
cant gaps in where people are getting the
shots.
Whether its due to a lack of availability
or vaccine hesitancy among many of its
residents, plenty of pockets of New York
City are seeing vaccination rates far below
the citywide totals of 51% with at least one
dose and 43% who are deemed fully vaccinated.
(To be fully vaccinated, you need
to have received either the one-and-done
Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine,
or both doses of the two-shot Pfi zer or
Moderna vaccines.)
Some of the neighborhoods with the lowest
vaccination rates in the city had spikes
in COVID-19 cases not too long ago. That
includes Tottenville (ZIP code 10307), a
neighborhood on the southwestern tip of
Staten Island, which just a few weeks ago
ranked among the New York City areas
with the highest 7-day COVID-19 positivity
rates in the fi ve boroughs.
Miss Universe Andrea Meza, of Mexico, winner of the 69th annual Miss
Universe competition, receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a CVS Pharmacy store in the Manhattan on
May 26.
As of May 31, according to the NYC
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene,
just over a third of Tottenville’s adults
(33.66%) are considered fully vaccinated,
REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON
while 38.89% of its adult population had
at least one vaccine dose.
Another former COVID-19 hot spot
— Flatlands/Midwood, Brooklyn (ZIP
code 11210) — has the borough’s lowest
vaccination rates, with 27.45% of its adults
fully vaccinated and 33.13% getting at least
one dose.
Edgemere/Far Rockaway (ZIP code
11691) not only has Queens’ lowest vaccination
rates, but also the lowest percentages
in the entire city. Just 24.49% of the
area’s adult population are fully vaccinated,
with 31% of residents getting at least one
dose.
The city’s also struggling to get the COVID
19 vaccine into the arms of residents
in Central Harlem/Washington Heights in
Upper Manhattan (ZIP code 10039), where
37.21% of adults got at least one dose and
30.74% are fully vaccinated; and Hunts
Point, Bronx (ZIP code 10417), where
34.43% of adults had a dose and 27.31%
are now fully vaccinated.
On the fl ip side, Manhattan’s Financial
District (10004) leads the entire city with
100% of residents at least one dose, and
86.87% fully vaccinated.
Overall, the city’s 7-day positivity rate fell
on May 31 to 0.86%, according to Mayor Bill
de Blasio, with just 277 new cases reported
citywide and another 68 people hospitalized
with the illness.
18 June 3, 2021 Schneps Media