Holden introduces resolution to make all hate crime defendants bail eligible

/
City Councilmember Robert Holden introduced a resolution in the City Council that would make all defendants facing hate crime charges bail eligible. File photo by John McCarten/City Council Photography

City Councilmember Robert Holden introduced a resolution in the City Council that would make all defendants facing hate crime charges bail eligible. File photo by John McCarten/City Council Photography

By Jacob Kaye

A Queens elected official introduced a resolution in the City Council last week that aims to put pressure on state lawmakers to pass legislation that would give judges the option to set bail on any defendant accused of a hate crime.

The resolution, introduced by City Councilman Robert Holden on Thursday, July 29, calls on “the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, legislation that would amend pretrial detention to include all hate crime charges.”

“Individuals arrested for hate crimes should not be released without bail,” Holden said in a statement to the Eagle. “Bail reform has been a disaster, but the change called for in this resolution would be a step in the right direction by allowing judges to require bail in those cases. It would also send a message that hate crimes must not be tolerated anywhere in New York.”

Currently, only two hate crime charges – assault and arson as a hate crime – are bail eligible.

Hate crimes have been on a precipitous rise in the city over the past year.

From January to July 2021, there were 334 hate crimes reported and substantiated in New York City, according to NYPD data. In 2020, there were 159 through July.

A majority of hate crimes committed this year have been against Jewish and Asian New Yorkers.

In January 2020, the state passed sweeping legislation limiting the number of crimes that were bail eligible. Holden, among others, has since blamed the legislation for the spike in violent crime, including shootings, murders and hate crimes.

Despite the reforms, bail is still an option for judges hearing cases involving defendants accused of committing most violent felonies.

A 2020 report from the Center for Court Innovation found that less than one percent of New Yorkers charged with a crime and released without bail in the first half of 2020 committed a shooting after being released.

Holden, who represents parts of Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Woodhaven and Woodside, recently beat out challenger Juan Ardilla in the Democratic primary election for the District 30 seat.