Swastikas found in Queens parks on Mother's Day after synagogues, homes targeted last week, NYPD says
Nearly a dozen swastikas were found spray painted at two parks in Queens on Mother's Day, New York City police said, days after antisemitic graffiti also surfaced on a Jewish center and the home of a Holocaust survivor in the borough.
The NYPD said Monday officers found five red swastikas on signs inside Highland Park and six more on an underpass in Forest Park between 8 a.m. and noon Sunday.
"Yet another hateful incident"
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin posted pictures of the graffiti on X, showing red swastikas painted on white support columns along an underpass and another covering a "Highland Park Ridgewood Reservoir" sign.
"This is yet another hateful incident meant to intimidate Jewish New Yorkers and divide our city. And we want to be clear: We cannot and will not accept this as normal," Menin said, posting a joint statement with Councilmembers Lynn Shulman and Joann Ariola.
The NYC Parks Department was working to remove the graffiti "as soon as possible," the speaker and councilmembers added.
"Hate has no place in our parks. When bias graffiti or hate speech is discovered, we work to remove it immediately," NYC Parks said in a statement to CBS News New York.
"It's pretty disgusting, I'm surprised. It's alarming," said parkgoer Maria Dugan.
As of noon Monday, all of the graffiti was removed.
Queens antisemitism investigations
Last week, four suspects allegedly painted swastikas and antisemitic statements on synagogues, homes and a car in Flushing and Forest Hills.
NYPD later released surveillance images showing the group accused of targeting the Rego Park Jewish Center and other locations.
"When we see Nazi symbols, when we see swastikas, when we see antisemitic graffiti, we must do more on the educational front to combat this kind of hate," Menin said after visiting the area last week.
Earlier this year, Menin and the City Council passed an action plan to combat antisemitism.
"There is absolutely no place in our city for this type of vile antisemitism, or hate of any kind. It must be loudly and universally condemned," Sen. Chuck Schumer said.
Over the weekend, people attended a "This Shall Not Stand" rally against antisemitism in Queens as the search for the suspects continued.
"For the first time in my life, many Jewish New Yorkers do not feel safe in this city and state," New York Assemblyman David Weprin said at the gathering.
Anti-Defamation League Regional Director Scott Richman said New York's elected leaders need to take a forceful stance against antisemitism.
"Make it clear that this is unacceptable in the city," Richman said. "This needs to be moved to the margins of the conversations so that people realize that this is not something they should be doing."
Search continues for suspects
The NYPD has not yet established a connection between the Highland and Forest park incidents, but each was being investigated as a possible hate crime, according to police.
No arrests have been made in connection with any of the incidents at this time.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website.
