HfHR Named 2026 NYC Community Project Grant Winner for Intercultural Solidarity in Queens
PRESS RELEASE:
Vrinda Jagota gets the good news
New York City Announces 12 Community Project Grant Winners to Combat Hate and Bias at Grass-Roots Level
The NYC Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes and NYC Commission on Human Rights award up to $10,000 each to 12 community organizations — in all five boroughs — to prevent hate, bias, and discrimination.
Winners include Queens teen, youngest-ever OPHC/CCHR grant honoree.
NEW YORK – For the fourth consecutive year, the New York City’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC) and the New York City Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) proudly announce the 12 recipients of the 2026 Community Project Grants to Prevent and Address Bias and Hate. Each awardee will receive up to $10,000 to develop and implement creative community-based projects aimed at reducing hate crimes, bias-motivated incidents, and discrimination across New York City.
This year's winners include organizations and individuals working across faith communities, intercultural spaces, and youth programs.
See the surprise video as winners got the news: www.instagram.com/mocj.nyc/reel/DU0-FoKjpEq/
Video, photos, and interviews available throughout week
“The Community Project Grants reflect New York City’s commitment to investing in the communities most vulnerable to hate,” said Vijah Ramjattan, Executive Director of the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes. “Through these grants, OPHC strengthens community-driven strategies that empower everyday New Yorkers to be part of the solution.
“These community investments recognize that eliminating hate requires a multi-pronged approach,” said Deanna Logan, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, which houses the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes. “Our strategy includes education to reduce the biases that fuel hate violence, and initiatives to foster healthy relationships between neighbors. These grants facilitate our strategy while ensuring New Yorkers have a say in the programs that directly strengthen their communities.
"Community-led work is critical to preventing hate and addressing the conditions that allow bias to take hold," said Christine Clarke, Commissioner and Chair of the New York City Commission on Human Rights. "These grants support New Yorkers who are doing the hard, meaningful work of bringing people together, strengthening relationships, and helping build a city where everyone belongs."
OPHC and CCHR invite all New Yorkers to engage with the awardees’ initiatives and participate in the ongoing conversations about tolerance, respect, and harmony in our neighborhoods.
The 2026 Community Project Grant Awardees:
Jiayi “Zoe” Yue (Queens)
Zoe is a 15-year-old youth advocate advancing mental health awareness and youth leadership through civic engagement and community-based programming. Through her work with The International Foundation of Freedom and Awareness, Zoe helps equip young people across New York City with tools for empathy, conflict resolution, and inclusive action.
Miah Artola (Manhattan)
Miah is an interdisciplinary artist and educator whose work centers the experiences of asylum seekers, refugees and diasporic communities through painting, new media and interactive installations. Her ongoing project, Mixed Poetics, fosters cross-cultural dialogue through multilingual collaborations and mixed media platforms spanning film, dance, virtual reality, and performance.
Grevil King-One Music Group (Bronx)
Grevil “Vell” King is a Bronx-based creative director, music executive, and community arts leader who founded ONE Music Group to support artist development and youth empowerment. Through initiatives like Sounds of Solidarity, Vell uses music and songwriting to promote unity, resilience and cultural pride in underserved communities.
Homecrest Community Services (Brooklyn)
Homecrest Community Services is a Brooklyn-based nonprofit serving immigrant older adults, youth and families through culturally responsive programming. Its initiative, Our Stories, Our City: Building Belonging, brings youth and immigrant seniors together to counter hate and bias through storytelling, dialogue and digital media.
Michael Peterson (Brooklyn)
Michael Peterson is a Brooklyn-based artist and educator who creates community-driven art experiences that transform public spaces through storytelling. His project, ONE NYC: The Imagination Lab for Belonging turns stories into artifacts and data into art, connecting New Yorkers across cultures and celebrating the city’s collective spirit.
Yohanna Baez & Jasmin Benward (Citywide)
Yohanna Báez and Jasmin Benward are multidisciplinary artists collaborating on The Map Belonging Project, a citywide initiative that transforms personal stories into poetry and audio tours. Through public mapping and walking tours, the project empowers residents to create a shared digital “Belonging Map of NYC,” amplifying marginalized voices and fostering cross-cultural understanding across New York City.
Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island (Brooklyn)
The Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island will launch Holocaust Survivors Against Hate, an initiative that amplifies survivor testimony to educate the public and combat bias and discrimination. Through video and written storytelling, the project promotes moral courage and upstander action and aims to build a more tolerant community.
Hindus for Human Rights (Queens)
Hindus for Human Rights is a grassroots organization advancing pluralism and human rights through interfaith solidarity and anti-hate advocacy. Its Eid/Holi/Vaisakhi for Intercultural Solidarity project brings Hindu, Sikh, Muslim and allied communities together through youth roundtables and public celebrations to counter Islamophobia, anti-Sikh hate, caste oppression, and polarization.
Bangladesh School of Fine Arts (BAFA) (Bronx and Queens)
The Bangladesh Academy of Fine Arts (BAFA) is a Bronx-based cultural organization dedicated to preserving South Asian arts and fostering community empowerment. Its initiative, Stories of Us: Bronx Intergenerational Arts & Anti-Bias Circle, brings together youth and elders through intergenerational workshops that promote cultural pride and civic engagement through arts and storytelling.
Big Apple Immigrant Center (Manhattan)
Big Apple Immigrants Center is a Chinatown and Lower East Side nonprofit providing culturally and linguistically accessible services to immigrant families. Through legal education for NYCHA and Section 8 residents, anti-bias workshops, and community-building events, the Center addresses misinformation, promotes rights awareness, and fosters cross-cultural connection.
Staten Island Pride Center (Staten Island, New York)
The Pride Center of Staten Island supports LGBTQIA+ and allied communities through advocacy, education, and community-building programs. Its community dinners bring together diverse residents for dialogue on hate, bias, and intersectionality, fostering understanding and inclusion across Staten Island.
Kayhan Irani
Kayhan Irani is an Emmy Award-winning interdisciplinary artist and cultural worker whose practice blends storytelling, theater, education, and participatory art to advance community healing and belonging. Her project, There Is a Portal, engages adult English language learners in immersive digital storytelling to explore migration, identity, and collective resilience.
About the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes: As part of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, the New York City Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC) leads the city’s coordinated, community-centered approach to preventing hate crimes and bias-based incidents. OPHC develops and advances prevention strategies that address the biases and conditions that fuel hate, strengthens partnerships across communities, and supports healing for victims and impacted neighborhoods. The office coordinates citywide efforts through an interagency committee of more than 20 city agencies and all five district attorneys’ hate crimes units, and works closely with community-based organizations to promote education, encourage reporting, and respond effectively when incidents occur. For more information, visit nyc.gov/stophate.
About the New York City Commission on Human Rights: CCHR is the agency responsible for enforcing the NYC Human Rights Law, one of the most comprehensive civil rights laws in the nation. The Commission works to promote equality and combat discrimination in New York City through law enforcement, community relations, and public education. For more information, visit nyc.gov/humanrights.