Hate crimes surged a shocking 96 percent in the Big Apple throughout 2021, new data from the NYPD has revealed, as Manhattan's woke DA announced on Friday that he'll be expanding the hate crimes unit to address radically motivated attacks.
Asian hate crimes skyrocketed 343 percent from 2020 to 2021 as the pandemic rattled on, with 133 Asian Americans experiencing terrifying and dangerous experiences of discrimination, according to the new data, which was first reported by Fox News.
Hispanic hate crimes were also up a staggering 700 percent last year with a total of eight people being harassed or harmed in 2021, up from one in 2020.
Overall, the City That Never Sleeps city saw a 96 percent increase in bias crimes throughout 2021, as more and more New Yorkers are being attacked in the streets, pushed onto subway tracks, and harassed for their gender, race and religion.
A total of 538 hate crimes occurred throughout 2021, compared to 275 in 2020.
Asian Americans have experienced a 343 percent increase in hate crimes in 2021 with 133 attacks. Hispanics are also seeing a rise in attacks with eight attacks happening in 2021, compared to one in 2020. A total of 538 hate crimes took place in the Big Apple, compared to 275 in 2020
Only three categories declined in the number of attacks: African Americans, generalized religion and other, the data show. It is not clear what is considered 'other.'
Despite 'religious' hate crimes decreasing overall, Muslims and Jews did see an increase of 180 and 54 percent from 2020 to 2021, respectively.
African Americans saw an 11 percent decrease in bias crimes against them, with the NYPD reporting 33 attacks, down from 37. Caucasian Americans saw a 100 percent increase, but the total number of attacks remains one of the lowest, with only 20 attacks.
Manhattan's DA Alvin Bragg, 48, (pictured at Yao Pan Ma's vigil) said he was will be partnering with local communities and expand resources to address the increase in hate crimes
Two recent Asian hate crimes have gripped the heartstrings of New Yorkers. Yao Pan Ma, 61, a Chinese immigrant, (left) was recently taken off life support after he was attacked eight months ago while collecting cans in East Harlem. Michelle Alyssa Go, 40, (right) was thrown to her death on subway tracks in a Times Square station January 16
A 65-year-old Asian woman was brutally beaten on her way to church in March
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, 48 - who recently found himself in hot water after downgrading many crimes and claiming that 'prison is a last resort' - is now saying his office will expand the hate crimes unit, created in 2018, to help address the increase in radically motivated attacks.
'Our [Asian American and Pacific Islander] brothers and sisters have been spit upon, coughed at, told to go back home. In my office we are deepening our capacity,' he said on Friday.
'We're expanding our hate crimes unit so that we can give these cases the resources that they deserve.'
Bragg, the first black man to hold his position, said on Friday that he would be expanding resources by partnering with local communities to 'strengthen our community ties,' but commended the existing 'small' hate crimes team for having 'great leadership.'
'What I've heard as I've traveled throughout Manhattan is that there's a reluctance to come forward to law enforcement from some communities, and some people are more willing to go forward through a community group,' Bragg said on Friday.
'We are both focusing on building cases and prosecuting cases and [are] also mindful that we might not be hearing about everything that we want to be, so strengthening our community ties as well.'
He also said on Friday that he would be cracking down on gun violence - something he promised on the campaign trail - and street crime will be a top priority in his office.
'We have a real crisis going on with guns, particularly in the upper part of Manhattan, that is really destabilizing communities,' he told Bloomberg's David Westin.
He also recently attended a vigil for Yao Pan Ma - a 61-year-old Chinese immigrant who was attacked while collecting cans in East Harlem eight months ago and was recently taken off life support - but other attendees demanded the DA up the charges from attempted murder to murder.
Overall crime has surged 35 percent in the Big Apple, with transit and robberies rising the most, at 65 and 25 percent, respectively
'Here at 125th [Street] to remember #YaoPanMa. We do not tolerate hate or violence in Manhattan, and those who commit hate crimes targeting our AAPI community members or any community will be held accountable. Hate crimes tear at the very fabric of society,' he wrote on Twitter on Friday.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, 61, and New York AG Letitia James, 63, also attended the event.
On January 16, another Asian American hate crime shook the cores of New Yorkers as Michelle Alyssa Go, 40, was violently pushed to her death onto subway tracks in a Times Squares station.
Police, who are still investigating the attack, said her alleged attacker Simon Martial, 61, was inside the subway for nine minutes before he shoved Go.
Many New Yorkers traveled to Times Square to honor her life, where a photo of her was displayed across a giant billboard, which Adams - who also started his term in office on New Years, alongside Bragg - attended.
One of the most shocking hate crimes in 2021 occurred in March, where a 65-year-old Asian woman was brutally assaulted in Hell's Kitchen on her way to church.
The victim was pushed to floor and kicked in the head by an unidentified passer-by during the vicious daylight attack. He reportedly told her: 'F*** you, you don't belong here.'
Out of the 436 hate crimes that occurred throughout the first three quarters of last year, only 185 assailants were arrested, according to NYPD data.
Not only has hate crimes soared in the Empire City, but overall crimes have drastically increased 35 percent, with transit, robberies, and felony assaults dramatically shifting 65, 25, and almost 8 percent, respectively.
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