Dozens of Swastikas Found at Brooklyn Playground in Back-to-Back Hate Incidents

New York City police are investigating two separate cases of aggravated harassment after dozens of swastikas were discovered vandalizing a children’s playground in Brooklyn, JNS reported Wednesday, citing the New York City Police Department.

According to police, officers were initially called to Gravesend Park on January 19, where they uncovered numerous swastikas painted in red throughout the playground area.

“Approximately 16 swastikas were drawn on slides, walls and floor of the playground. The paint bottles were found on scene,” the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information told JNS. Authorities said the incident is being handled by the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force.

Police returned to the same park two days later, on January 21, after another emergency call reported additional vandalism. “On Wednesday, at approximately 1050 hours, police responded to a 911 call of an aggravated harassment in the vicinity of 56 Street and 18 Avenue (Gravesend Park), within the confines of the 66 Precinct,” DCPI said. Investigators found “approximately 57 swastikas in the playground and handball court area written on the wall in red, blue and yellow colors.” No suspects have been arrested.

Brooklyn Community Board 12 denounced the acts, pointing to the disturbing pattern of repeat vandalism at the same site. “Same park, different day. A day later, and this is what happened,” the board wrote. “We are requesting that NYPD Hate Crimes pull out all the stops to catch these vile Jew haters.”

The Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey also issued a sharp condemnation. “Parents should never have to fear their children will encounter vile hatred at the playground,” the ADL said. “We are disgusted to see this display of antisemitism in Boro Park, home to tens of thousands of Jewish New Yorkers and thousands of Holocaust survivors.”

Israel’s diplomatic mission in the city echoed those sentiments. The Consulate General of Israel in New York described the vandalism as “antisemitic hatred.” It added, “A playground meant for joy and innocence was deliberately turned into a place of fear and terror because the children who play there are Jews. We will not be silent. The Jewish community around the world will stand together and will not be intimidated.”

The incidents come amid a broader surge in antisemitic activity across New York since October 7, 2023. Figures released by the NYPD on the eve of the November mayoral election, which was won by Zohran Mamdani, showed that Jews accounted for 62% of all hate-crime victims reported last month, with 29 antisemitic cases out of 47 total incidents.

On the same day Mamdani won the election, swastikas were sprayed on the Magen David Yeshiva in Brooklyn.

Nearly two weeks later, antisemitic graffiti reading “[Curse] Jews” was discovered written on a sidewalk in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill neighborhood.

In December, a Jewish man was stabbed in broad daylight in Crown Heights, an assault police are investigating as a possible antisemitic attack.

{Matzav.com}