Rockaway pols and police discuss hate crime prevention

From left to right: Captain Louron Hall of the 100th Precinct; Deputy Inspector Mark Molinari commanding officer of the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force; Michael Brovner, deputy chief of Gang Violence and Hate Crimes, office of Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz; Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato; State Sen. Joseph Addabbo; Michael Cohen, eastern director, Simon Wiesenthal Center. Photo courtesy of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

By David Brand

A pair of state lawmakers representing the Rockaway Peninsula joined Queens law enforcement leaders and Jewish community groups to discuss a recent spate of anti-Semitic offenses and other hate crimes committed in the region.

Sen. Joseph Addabbo and Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato partnered with the Simon Wiesenthal Center and local commanding officers to develop a strategy for stopping hate crimes in the region. After hearing from SWC experts, community members raised concerns and proposed solutions. 

The leaders implemented the forum series after anti-Semitic vandals scrawled symbols of hate at the Silver Gull Beach Club and in the sand at a nearby beach during Labor Day Weekend in 2019. 

The next Rockaways forum will take place on Thursday, March 5 at 6 p.m. at the Bayswater Jewish Center on 2355 Healy Ave.