Back in February, we wrote about how the NYPD had released some disturbing information on the rise in antisemitic incidents in New York City since its mayor, Zohran Mamdani, had taken office.
They were up a staggering 182%:
Hateful antisemitic incidents skyrocketed 182% across the Big Apple in January compared to a year ago, even as other crimes such as murders and shootings reached record lows, according to NYPD data.There were 31 hate crimes against Jewish people reported in the first month of 2026, which is 20 more than the same time last year, the startling stats show.[…]“Unfortunately, it’s never too cold to be antisemitic,” said Michael Nussbaum, a Queens board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.“The hate is going to be difficult to eliminate — it’s what’s in people’s hearts and minds,” he said.
The NYPD’s website clearly noted that this was a rise in crimes, not “reported incidents”:
The number of bias incidents investigated by the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force increased by 152% (58 vs. 23). Specifically, anti-Jewish hate crimes increased by 182% (31 vs. 11), which accounted for more than half of all the hate crime incidents in January.
It was yet more proof that Mamdani’s anti-Israel, pro-Hamas, antisemitic rhetoric from his days as a New York Assemblyman and then candidate for mayor had emboldened like-minded individuals in the city at a time tensions between Jewish critics and the Democratic Socialist mayor were already rising.
Fast forward a month, and the NYPD has conveniently announced that they are now going to report on hate crime stats differently:
Previously, the department reported alleged hate crimes that were still under review. The NYPD will now report hate crimes that have been investigated and officially confirmed as such by the Hate Crimes Task Force. This updated methodology will provide a more accurate representation of confirmed hate crimes in the city. For the month of February, the NYPD recorded 38 hate crimes.
It’s a move that was immediately criticized by hate crime experts who say the new way of reporting the data could skew the true picture:
“It would be erroneous to consider that’s a drop in hate crimes,” said Frank Pezzella, a professor at John Jay College and author of the book “The Measurement of Hate Crimes in America.”
[…]
Brendan Lantz, the director of Hate Crime Research and Policy Institute at Florida State University, said there are several problems with tracking only hate crimes that have been confirmed by police. He said there are a number of reasons not all reported hate crimes are confirmed.
If a victim stops cooperating with police, for example, a legitimate hate crime could go unconfirmed, he said.
[…]
In some cases, police may not find sufficient evidence to confirm that a hate crime occurred when one actually did, Lantz said. He added that police departments may face pressure to pay more attention to the complaints of some populations than others.
“There’s all kinds of things that can stand in between finding enough evidence to call a hate crime founded … that is not necessarily a direct result of if it’s a hate crime or not,” he said.
Though Mamdani’s office claimed he had nothing to do with the change, critics weren’t buying it:
Another X user made a good suggestion that, unfortunately, is unlikely to be heeded:
Now the hate crime statistics will be easier to manipulate and have a lag.All the NYPD has to do is slow down investigations or delay closing them out.If NYPD wanted to enhance transparency and provide more meaningful information, the leadership would report the number of reported hate crimes, the number investigated, and the number of hate crimes confirmed.
Sounds about right.
– Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via X. –
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