Two Bronx recipients are among 13 citywide awardees receiving a total of $120,000 in community grants aimed at preventing hate, bias and discrimination, the city announced Wednesday.
Madison Langford and Kingsbridge Heights Community Center will each receive funding through the city’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes to support community-led initiatives in the borough.
The grants were awarded through the New York City Office of Community Safety’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC), in partnership with the NYC Commission on Human Rights.
“New York City’s diversity is one of our greatest strengths, and it is incumbent on all of us to protect it,” said Deputy Mayor for Community Safety Renita Francois.
“These investments recognize that the most lasting solutions to hate are built in communities —by neighbors, advocates, young people, artists, and faith leaders working together. These grantees will help strengthen relationships, elevate understanding, and ensure more New Yorkers feel safe, seen, and included.”
Langford will lead a disability-awareness and inclusion program in the northeast Bronx District 11 K-8 schools. The program will work with students, families and educators to increase understanding of disabilities and different learning needs, address stigma and bullying and encourage young people to advocate for accessibility and inclusion.
Another awardee, Kingsbridge Heights Community Center, will use its grant to expand its KHCCaring Community initiative. The grant will be used to elevate LGBTQ+ youth as leaders and advocates across its three youth-serving sites.
The program will combine youth leadership, mentoring, restorative practices, peer education, awareness campaigns and LGBTQ+-centered community events to create safer and more affirming environments for LGBTQ+ youth and their allies.
“Community-led anti-hate programming is one of the best ways we can invest in our city,” said Vijah Ramjattan, Executive Director of the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes. “These grants protect the vulnerable, build community, and empower New Yorkers to stand together against bias and discrimination.”
OPHC was created in 2019 amid a rise in hate crimes that summer. The office takes a community-based approach to preventing hate crimes, using public education, outreach and other non-law enforcement strategies to address prejudice and bias.
The office was previously housed within the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice before being moved under the Office of Community Safety, established by Mayor Zohran Mamdani this year.
