Announcement Comes after an Incident at Melville Mosque
During the visit to the Islamic Center in Melville on February 26, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that she secured $25 million in the state budget for Securing Communities.
The grant will be used to bolster the security of religious institutions, a move that is particularly timely, as the Muslim community prepares for the upcoming month of Ramadan. This includes enhanced security patrols, in collaboration with Suffolk County police, to protect places of worship.
The announcement comes in the wake of a recent incident in which Jordan Elder of East Northport was arrested and later arraigned for trespassing and harassment after he entered the Islamic Center and made a statement about the Israel-Palestine conflict. When he was asked to leave, he refused.
Hochul said she had an “impactful conversation” with Islamic Center leadership, and assured them that “we do not tolerate hateful instances as occurred here a few days ago.”
“We do not tolerate any forms of hate, whether it is Islamophobia, antisemitism, racism, homophobia,” Hochul said. “That is not who we are as New Yorkers.”