Overview
- The seven-member body, co-chaired by Republican Inna Vernikov and Democrat Eric Dinowitz, will hold hearings, issue recommendations and advance Speaker Julie Menin’s five-point plan, with subpoena power under consideration.
- Menin also introduced legislation to bar demonstrations within 100 feet of house-of-worship entrances; legal scholars and officials expect First Amendment scrutiny, and a Council vote is slated for February.
- Vernikov’s selection drew immediate criticism over prior incendiary remarks and a 2023 gun incident at a campus protest; Menin said the Jewish Caucus elected the co-chairs and that she rejects those past comments.
- The council initiative proceeds separately from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, which has no permanent director; the mayor says he is in the final stages of hiring and both sides signal willingness to coordinate.
- The moves follow a spate of incidents including an arrest in a car-ramming at Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters, swastika vandalism in Borough Park and an assault on a Queens rabbi, with the NYPD increasing security at houses of worship.