Two days after anti-Semitic and Nazi symbols were found all over a Rego Park playground, Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday ordered the New York State Police to help the NYPD investigate the incident and bring the vandal(s) to justice.
“I am appalled and disgusted by the swastikas and other anti-Semitic symbols of hate that were scrawled in a Queens schoolyard,” Cuomo said on Feb. 24, referencing the Feb. 22 incident at P.S. 139, located 93-06 63rd Dr. “In New York, we have zero tolerance for such vile acts of anti-Semitism. I am directing the State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to immediately assist the NYPD in the investigation of this hideous act and hold those accountable to the full extent of the law.”
Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz’s office received reports about the hateful vandalism on Friday, and the Forest Hills-based lawmaker visited the school that day to see it for herself. She shared images of the damage on social media. One photo showed swastikas written in chalk all across the playing area; another picture showed the message, “Hail Hitler” (sic).
“I am horrified, disgusted and nauseated, to say the least, of what I have witnessed today,” Koslowitz tweeted on Friday. “Nazi imagery and anti-Semitic slurs were drawn at the P.S. 139 Playground in Rego Park. I was on the scene today and most of the imagery has been washed away. Enough is enough!”
No arrests have been made in connection with the vandalism, according to the NYPD, and the department’s investigation is ongoing.
“New Yorkers stand with the Jewish community against anti-Semitism in all its forms, especially in the wake of the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in our nation’s history,” Cuomo said on Sunday. “We declare that there is no hate in our state, and we will always stand together against hate and discrimination.”
