Deputy Inspector Michael Osgood of the Hate Crimes Task Force attributed the trend to several factors : The Hate Crimes Act , which he said put people on notice ; the existence of the task force , which has operated since 1980 ; and the resolution of high-profile hate crimes , including the first Howard Beach attacks ; the 1989 shooting death of a black teenager in Bensonhurst , Brooklyn ; and the 1991 stabbing death of a Hasidic Jew in Crown Heights , Brooklyn . ''