Vulgar anti-Semitic graffiti spray-painted onto a Forest Hills homeowner’s fence was removed by the NYPD on on Wednesday, Dec. 16.
Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal, who was alerted by a resident on social media about the graffiti at 10:25 a.m., visited the site near the Grand Central Service Road at 68th Drive and contacted the NYPD 112th Precinct. The comment referenced performing a sex act on Jewish women.
“This shameful and repugnant act has no place in our community. It will not be tolerated and must be stamped out,” Rosenthal said. “This latest event comes on the heels of a cyber attack on a local Jewish school in Long Island. Anti-Semitism is not new to our community but we must stand united and with one voice declare that there is no room for it. The scourge of anti-Semitism and hate must be combated at every level. I condemn in the strongest possible terms any acts of anti-Semitism and I have full confidence in the NYPD that they will find the perpetrator and that justice will be served.”
When the homeowners departed at 10:15 a.m. there was no sign of damage, they said.
“We are extremely upset and distressed by these circumstances. My father recently passed; this had been his home,” the homeowner said. “It disturbs us to know that our home was used to disseminate hate.”
Avi Cyperstein, a candidate running for City Council District 29, was with the homeowners and Queens Borough Safety Patrol Shmira and their coordinator Yoni Fricker. Cyperstein had described the situation to the NYPD’s Bias Unit, Evidence Collection Unit and investigators.
“There is no room for hate of any kind in Queens. There is no acceptance for vandalism at any level. It is most disturbing to see property being defaced,” Cyperstein said. “I call upon our community to stand up against hatred and prejudice like the unfortunate circumstances that unfolded in Forest Hill today. I am so proud of the swift response by the NYPD, Shmira, and Chaverim volunteers. I am a ‘doer’ not a laker, and I am running for NYC Council to get things done.”
Eli Love, a member of the Chaveirim of Queens, a local volunteer-based assistance crew, joined Cyperstein at a local hardware store, Safehouse Locksmith, where the owner, Michael Khiyayev, agreed to donate materials to remove the graffiti.
Meanwhile, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said the “sickening display of anti-Semitism has no place in The World’s Borough,” especially as the Jewish community in Forest Hills and across Queens celebrate the holy week of Hannukah.
“This intolerable act of vandalism will not go unpunished, and our office is working closely with the NYPD, the NYC Commission on Human Rights and the NYC Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes to ensure those responsible are held accountable for their shameful, unacceptable act of hate,” Richards said.
