Usually a Community Board 11 meeting is not spectator sport, but April’s sure could have been. The issue of the David Weprin campaign’s mailing of a swastika-laden flier at the tail end of February’s special election drew many who believed that such an act should be formally reprimanded by the board.
CB 11 Chairman Jerry Iannece and a majority of the board members skirted the issue because they believed the vote could be construed as being “political.” They even voted down a resolution castigating the mere act of mailing a swastika with no mention of the source.
As shocking as this may be a week before Holocaust Remembrance Day, it does set a horrible precedent. Iannece and CB 11 will not address any act of hate that can even be construed as political. So if you decide to burn a cross on your neighbor’s lawn, leave a campaign lawn sign. If you tie a noose on someone’s doorknob, attach a campaign pin. And if you paint a swastika on a temple, add a campaign bumper sticker.
The board and its chair should be reminded that all these expressions of hate have all been political. This should make us all wonder what political motivations the board had in ducking the issue.
Timothy Furey
Bayside
