New York to establish first state-sponsored Holocaust memorial

NEW YORK — New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation on Monday that will establish New York’s first state-sponsored Holocaust memorial.

The memorial will be built at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, the state capital.

The legislation says the monument will be called the New York State Holocaust Memorial, and will aim to commemorate the victims of the genocide and to “educate the public about the history of the Holocaust and the dangers of antisemitism, racism, and all manifestations of intolerance.”

The project will be overseen by the Office of General Services, a state agency that provides support services to the New York government, including for architecture and construction.

The agency will seek input from organizations involved in Holocaust remembrance for the memorial’s design and programming.

The project will begin immediately, the legislation said. The budget has not yet been determined and the legislation did not include a timeline.

The Empire State Plaza is a centerpiece in Albany, surrounded by offices for government employees, the state Capitol, the New York State Museum and an iconic, bowl-shaped theater known as The Egg.

The legislation passed through the state Senate and Assembly unopposed.

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who represents part of Queens in the state Assembly, co-sponsored the bill.

Mamdani, a far-left anti-Israel activist, took fire for declining to sign onto a May resolution memorializing the Holocaust in the Assembly, which his spokesperson attributed to narrowing his legislative activities during his mayoral campaign.

Mamdani has commemorated the Holocaust on social media and said he would like to see more Holocaust education in New York City schools.

Hochul, a moderate Democrat who is generally pro-Israel, endorsed Mamdani’s mayoral campaign in September. Hochul is running for reelection next year against US Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has sought to win Jewish voters by highlighting Hochul’s support for Mamdani.

“With the first-ever state-sponsored Holocaust Memorial, we are honoring the victims and survivors of the Holocaust while ensuring that all visitors have a place to remember and reflect on what the Jewish community has endured,” Hochul said in a statement. “New York has zero tolerance for hate of any kind, and with this memorial, we reaffirm our commitment to rooting out antisemitism and ensuring a peaceful and thriving future for all.”

New York has a number of Holocaust memorials, but none funded and supported by the state government.

Last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced plans for a new Holocaust memorial in Queens, the borough’s first.

The new memorials come in a fraught political environment for New York Jews due to Mamdani’s election victory, ongoing fallout from the Gaza war, and antisemitism.

At the same time, some Jewish community advocates have questioned the efficacy of Holocaust education in combating antisemitism due to increasing anti-Jewish discrimination, despite the resources committed to education about the genocide.

There are around 14,700 Holocaust survivors living in New York State, the Claims Conference said last year.