NYC Councilwoman Slams Mamdani's Antisemitism Office for Lacking Resources

New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov criticized the Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism for lacking public-facing resources as anti-Israel protests continue in the city.

"Mayor Mamdani continues to gaslight the Jewish community in New York City by creating a black hole of an office — the Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism — an office that has no website, no phone number, no resources," Vernikov, R-District 48, told Fox News Digital. "There's nobody to reach out to, there's nobody to talk to. The public has no sense of how this office can help Jewish New Yorkers."

Vernikov said a recent hearing left her convinced that the office does nothing to combat antisemitism. She added that even people who contact the mayor's office receive no response that makes them or their children feel safer.

Vernikov, a Jewish Republican, co-chairs a bipartisan task force on antisemitism with Councilman Eric Dinowitz, D-District 11. Formed earlier this year, the task force operates separately from the mayor's office.

An online search for the Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism directs to a New York City government webpage with a press release announcing the office, a description of its goals, and a list of recent events and services. The list includes a listening tour whose findings will inform a report and strategy on combating antisemitism. Other items feature Mayor Zohran Mamdani's visit to the Jewish Children's Museum in Crown Heights, Passover Seders, food distribution with Chasdei Lev, and an Orthodox Community Leaders Roundtable.

New York City has faced multiple antisemitic incidents in recent weeks, including swastika graffiti in Queens and protests outside a Manhattan synagogue and in a Jewish neighborhood of Brooklyn. After the protest at Park East Synagogue in Manhattan, Mamdani said his administration was committed to ensuring New Yorkers could safely enter or exit houses of worship. He added that he firmly disagreed with the real estate expo inside the synagogue.

"When we have a real estate expo that is promoting the sale of land which includes the sale of land in the occupied West Bank, in settlements that are a violation of international law, that is something that I firmly disagree with," Mamdani told a reporter. He described the land sales as central to efforts to displace Palestinians from their homes.

The protests' closeness to Jewish institutions has alarmed many Jewish New Yorkers, including Vernikov's constituents. She said the issue is not about restricting First Amendment rights but stopping intimidation and harassment of Jews.

"This has nothing to do with the First Amendment. It has everything to do with trying to intimidate and harass Jews, and that's all these protesters are fighting for," Vernikov said.

Mamdani has drawn criticism for vetoing a City Council bill that would have created buffer zones around educational institutions to shield them from protests. The council passed a similar bill for houses of worship, which Mamdani did not veto.

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani's office for comment.