NEW YORK CITY — The city has launched an anti-discrimination ad campaign amid an uptick in bias crimes across the five boroughs.
The advertising blitz, which includes display ads and video PSAs, marks an effort by the NYC Commission on Human Rights and Mayor Bill de Blasio to combat a 60 percent increase in reports of discrimination recorded by the commission last year, the city announced.
The ads feature depictions of discrimination faced by Muslim, Jewish, African-American, Hispanic, Asian and LGBTQ New Yorkers.
The ads will be placed in 3,400 locations across the city over the next six weeks, including in subway stations and bus shelters, LInkNYC kiosks, Taxi TV, the Staten Island Ferry and various other establishments, the city announced. They will also run in 25 ethnic and community newspapers, as well as on the radio in multiple languages.
The video ads will broadcast on YouTube, Hulu, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google and a host of other digital media properties.
The campaign comes amid a continued rise in hate crimes across the city, with 140 incidents reported to the NYPD so far this year, compared to just 70 during the same time period last year — a 100 percent increase, the New York Post reported.
Reports of discrimination based on race, religion, national origin and immigration status jumped by 30 percent last year, the Human Rights Commission said, with the agency currently handling more than 1,600 open cases compared to 1,200 in May 2016.
"It is now more important than ever for New Yorkers to stand united as one city and reject hatred and intolerance," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement announcing the campaign.
"In New York City, our diversity is our strength. It does not matter where we come from, who we love or who we worship. We are all New Yorkers, and deserve to be treated with dignity. Regardless of the national rhetoric, we have absolutely no tolerance for discrimination in our City."
