Jew-hate is ‘everyone’s problem,’ says Maloney

On a tour of her office, Virginia Maloney pointed to a wall map showing the district on Manhattan’s Upper East Side that she represents in the New York City Council — the neighborhood where she grew up.

“I grew up in a proud Zionist household,” the Democrat told JNS.

Maloney is not Jewish, but Jewish life was a familiar part of her upbringing. Jewish friends invited her to Shabbat dinners, and she attended more bat mitzvah celebrations than she can count.

Her connection extends to Israel. She traveled there several times with her mother, former Rep. Carolyn Maloney, on official delegations — experiences she said helped shape her bond with Jews and the Jewish state.

Her mother, a Democrat who represented New York in Congress for decades and championed causes including Holocaust education, inspired her to enter public service and shaped her understanding of the responsibility that comes with representing a community.

“It’s not about what you say. It’s about what you do,” Maloney said.

Before elected office, Maloney was a product manager at Facebook and its parent company, Meta, and a consultant at Deloitte. She also served as a senior project manager for media and emerging technology at the city’s Economic Development Corporation. She holds an undergraduate degree from Princeton University, an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s in public administration from Harvard University, and was an intern on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

On the council, one of her focuses is fighting Jew-hatred.

“Antisemitism is not a Jewish problem,” she said. “It’s a New York problem. It’s everyone’s problem.”

Maloney is a member of the council’s bipartisan Jew-hatred task force. This year she secured $700,000 for Jewish organizations, including $545,000 for the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

“Words are important,” she said. “But what’s more important is what you do with it.”

Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, told JNS that Maloney has been “a strong and unwavering ally to Jewish New Yorkers, not only speaking out against antisemitism but also rolling up her sleeves to deliver meaningful solutions.”

She “understands that fighting hate requires more than words,” he said.

When the JCRC approached Maloney about marking its 50th anniversary with a street co-naming, Treyger said, she “embraced the opportunity without hesitation.”

“Her accessibility, responsiveness and genuine commitment to our community have meant a great deal to us,” he said.

Among her legislative achievements, Maloney cited Local Law 85 of 2026, which she sponsored. It requires the NYPD to help religious and nonprofit institutions establish and maintain emergency plans, which can include identifying safety risks, responding to threats of violence and evacuating buildings safely. The council approved the measure in March, it became law in April and it took effect July 1.

Her focus on safety extends to e-bikes, which she said have been a challenge to regulate as the city balances the convenience of rapid delivery with pedestrian safety.

“Everybody wants a pizza within 20 minutes delivered to their doorstep but are then surprised when they’re almost hit by an e-bike,” she said, noting that 23 council bills address e-bike regulation.

Maloney wants New York to “be the best place for people to live, to work, to start a business and to raise a family.” Her priorities include mental health services, housing affordability and economic development.

In September, she announced a $25.6 million council capital investment to modernize adult inpatient psychiatric services at Bellevue Hospital and add 40 psychiatric beds — her top capital priority in her first city budget.

She has also proposed the Shared Housing Act, which would make it easier to convert certain office buildings into shared housing amid the city’s high costs and changing demand for office space.

As chair of the council’s Economic Development Committee, Maloney draws on her government and technology experience. Before joining the council, she worked to expand free public Wi-Fi and fiber infrastructure and ran programs supporting small businesses and the city’s workforce. She also consulted for the federal government on high-speed rail, telecommunications infrastructure and health care.

“Every corner of New York has a memory,” she said.

For Maloney, holding office means turning support for causes into practical results for her constituents — and combating Jew-hatred is part of that responsibility. —JNS