Gov. Kathy Hochul announced $70 million in security money for hundreds of synagogues, yeshivas and other groups facing hate crime threats before the Jewish High Holidays.
The funding doubles the $35 million Hochul proposed for the Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes grant program in her FY2027 budget — as antisemitic incidents made up more than half of the 425 hate crimes reported in New York City this year through August.
Hochul said the coming High Holidays have left Jewish New Yorkers worried about safety.
“The most sacred period in the Hebrew year gets underway in a few short days,” Hochul said from her midtown office. “This is always a time of anxiety, concern, and now I would say it’s been ratcheted up.”
The grants will begin going out this week, Hochul said.
The state will distribute the money to about 300 nonprofits statewide that apply for the program.
The cash can be used to install cameras and alarm systems, train security staff and improve cybersecurity at religious sites, schools and other places vulnerable to hate crimes.
Hochul said the new funding brings her administration’s total investment in the program to more than $200 million since she became governor.
The announcement came days before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when synagogues and Jewish schools expect heavy attendance.
“Hate has no place in our great state,” Hochul said. “We must condemn it in every single form that it takes. But the reality is, the sad reality, is that hate crimes are on the rise, and more than half of those crimes are targeted against Jewish New Yorkers.”
The Big Apple logged 425 hate crimes through August, up from 367 in the same time last year.
Of those incidents, 217 targeted Jewish New Yorkers, according to NYPD data.
Hochul also directed the state Hate Crimes Task Force and State Police to increase patrols at religious sites from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur.
State Police Superintendent Steven James said troopers will conduct regular checks at synagogues, houses of worship and other locations where people gather during the holidays.
Hochul said she had spoken with Mayor Zohran Mamdani about coordinating state police and NYPD protection for synagogues and yeshivas.
But neither the mayor nor an NYPD representative attended Tuesday morning’s press conference.
