Suffolk County’s 311 Call Center program was started in 2019 to offer non-emergency inquiries and government services and information to anyone who calls the line. The purpose of the 311 line was to alleviate non-emergency calls from the 911 line.
Essentially, the 311 Call Center has served as a point of contact between a resident and Suffolk County itself. Those who call the line can receive information and help including, but not limited to, county services and parks, tax filings, elected official directories, and similar forms of information. 311 operators are trained to direct calls to proper departments, especially 911 if a situation is deemed to be an emergency.
County leadership launched the plan on the basis that it would save taxpayer time and money to properly route calls, as well as alleviate public safety concerns by wasting time of 911 operators.
Now, four years after its creation, the 311 Call Center will serve, in addition to its current resources, as the county’s antisemitism hotline, to which callers can anonymously report acts that are considered antisemitic to the county for further review and investigation, if necessary.
“No matter how small, report it all,” was the operating line for Tuesday’s press conference at the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge. County Executive Steve Bellone (D-West Babylon) headlined the initiative and the press conference and was joined by a large group of individuals who serve on various boards and committees concerning Jewish people and interests.
In Suffolk County we strongly condemn hate, racism, violence and bigotry directed towards any community in this county,” Executive Bellone. “Unfortunately, anit-semitism is something We have continued to see in our region, our country, and our world. That’s why we have to remain vigilant in identifying what anti-semitism is, what it looks like, and how it impacts so many. Despite the efforts of every single person, hate and bigotry continue to find many platforms, which are used to perpetuate fear, hostility, and falsehoods, with anti-semitism being one of the oldest and most insidious forms of such abhorrent conduct.”
Bellone mentioned how in 2021, Suffolk County, under his leadership, became the first county in the nation to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. The non-legally binding definition of antisemitism is listed on the IHRA website as: “A certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
“Through 311, we can better document and track these occurrences, allowing us to act proactively towards eliminating antisemitism in our community,” said Bellone. “By coming together and standing united against, we can ensure a safer, brighter future for all in Suffolk County.”
Suffolk Legislator Jason Richberg (D-Babylon) of the Fifteenth District spoke after Executive Bellone, highlighting the speedy development of the antisemitism hotline:
“I think we had about twelve meetings about this, and they were the twelve fastest meetings,” said Richberg. “When folks were in these meetings, they were asking questions about the right folks to bring to the table and providing public safety. Sometimes we see something out of the corner of our eye and we think it doesn’t matter, that’s not the truth. The truth is that small actions have led to larger actions throughout our history that have been destructive to many different peoples.”
In addition to remaining vigilant in identifying and reporting these instances to the police, Richberg said solutions can be found in education:
“We need to have an education campaign to tell people this is not right, this is not fun, this isn’t a joke. These hateful jokes, sayings, and symbols are emotional scars and bring up generations of trauma.”
Alan Richter, Chairman of Suffolk County Jewish Advisory Board said: “Just about every day, we see media reports of antisemitism somewhere in the world, sometimes delivered as hate speech, sometimes as violence, and sometimes with deadly consequences. The 311 initiative is part of a multi-layered approach driven by forward-thinking leaders of this county.”
According to the Jewish Advisory Board website, the board was established in 2013 by Executive Bellone to “ be a community liaison to the county executive and advocate on behalf of the Jewish-American population of Suffolk County.”
Mindy Perlmutter, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Long Island (JCRC-LI) said that in order to adequately respond to antisemitic displays in Suffolk County, the task force had to “know the numbers.”
“What we were seeing is that people are not reporting to 911, for whatever reason, unless it was a true emergency. But whenever they would see something that would upset them, such as a swastika on a building, it would go unreported,” said Perlmutter. “We are very grateful to the 311 Center to allow us to add onto an existing service; it’s much easier to do something like this. Now that we’re able to see the numbers as they show, where we’re seeing these, what kinds of issues we’re seeing and then determine the best way to combat these issues.”
Eric Post, Long Island Regional Director for the American Jewish Committee (AJC): “As per AJC’s Annual State of Antisemitism in America Report in 2022, 84% of American Jews who experienced antisemitism did not report it to the authorities. With this staggering, it’s not only impossible to help victims, it is difficult to know the extent of the problem and how to allocate government resources. The 311 reporting line will make it easier for county residents to report antisemitism and will lead to a better understanding of the nature of the problem and how to go about solving it. A key component is school-aged children, who we hope we can better protect in schools.”
Rick Lewis, Executive Director of Suffolk Young Jewish Community Center (Y JCC) said: “One of the things we do every day is fight antisemitism. We do that by educating young people, we talk to them about the Holocaust, tolerance, and hate, and we ask them to take that information back to their communities and schools. Too often, we drive, bike, or walk by something and we think to ourselves ‘who should I call, or what should I do?’ We’re making it easy for you with 311. If you don’t call, don’t assume someone else is going to call. We need that information.”
A Q&A panel ensued after the press conference, where Bellone and others answered questions. Answers revealed that the 311 operators are being trained to handle these specific calls and that the data from this particular hotline will be made public at some point. There are fifteen 311 operators, with the line being operational seven days a week, 9:00a.m.-6:00p.m. Monday-Friday, and 9:00a.m.-4:00p.m. on weekends.
One question posed the hypothetical scenario of a high school making crass comments and if that is an incident that would be escalated. Bellone said the incidents will be handled on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of professionals:
“Sometimes it’s malicious, sometimes it’s with intent, and sometimes it’s from a lack of understanding. It comes from a place of ignorance rather than hate.”
Alan Richter said that the “die-hard haters should be punished, and those who are ignorant acting from a place that is not malicious should be educated.” He referenced the eleven modern examples of antisemitism on the IHRA website, which range from promulgating stereotypes of Jewish people controlling world media and finance to denying the “fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality” of the Holocaust. The full list can be accessed at: https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definitions-charters/working-definition-antisemitism.
Many speakers, including Bellone, mentioned the idea of escalating offenses, which start as small, seemingly innocuous jokes or displays that eventually become dangerous. When asked about this phenomenon, Bellone said it’s “intuitive that people who engage in certain criminal and deplorable acts have likely engaged in acts that were smaller than that, and they have taken steps towards that. That is, generally speaking, a logical assumption.”
This is essentially the basis of the task force, to collect data on smaller instances to potentially prevent much more heinous acts from being committed in the future.
While Bellone and each speaker referenced their optimism about the program, they all individually stressed that emergency situations should always be forwarded to 911.
Other attendees included: John Kaiman (D-Great Neck), Deputy County Executive; Olga El Sehamy, Assistant Deputy County Executive; Anthony Carter, Southampton Police Chief and Deputy Commissioner Suffolk County Police Department; Nancy Quattrociocchi, Commander of the Hate Crimes Unit; Viviana Russell, Director of Suffolk 311; Michelle Herman, Vice Chair of the Suffolk Jewish Advisory Board; Neil Smullian, a member of the Suffolk County Jewish Advisory Board; and Avi Posnick, StandWithUs Northeast Director.
