Update: The Swastika On The American Legion Building Has Been Removed


by on Sep 19th, 2014
Treyger and 61st Precinct Commanding Officer Carlos Valdez at the scene. (Source: Conor Greene)

Treyger and 61st Precinct Commanding Officer Carlos Valdez at the scene. (Source: Conor Greene)

After Sheepshead Bites’ report yesterday about a swastika appearing on the American Legion building at 300 Avenue X, elected officials condemned the hateful act and authorities rushed to have it investigated and removed today.

Members of the Marlboro Memorial Post 1437 American Legion chapter were apparently unaware of the graffiti. Councilman Mark Treyger’s office visited the site to inform them, and the pol called the NYPD’s 61st Precinct commanding officer, Deputy Inspector Carlos Valdez, to the scene to report the incident as a hate crime.

The pol then called the mayor’s office to dispatch the Economic Development Corporation’s graffiti removal service. As of 1:45pm today, police and the EDC were on the scene. When the police wrapped up their investigation, the graffiti was immediately removed.

Treyger said he spoke to members of the American Legion post, which included World War II veterans who were glad to see the symbol of hate eliminated.

Source: Michael S.

The swastika before it was removed. Source: Michael S.

“A swastika is not just offensive to the Jewish community, it’s offensive to everybody,” Treyger said. “An attack against one part of our community is an attack against us all. We have a zero tolerance policy on that.”

He added: “I do want to commend the precinct for coming down quickly, and the mayor’s office for sending the graffiti removal van immediately.”

Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz expressed his outrage at the vandalism on Facebook yesterday evening.

“I condemn the spray-painting of a swastika on American Legion Marlboro Memorial Post 1437, whose members include World War II veterans who saw the Nazi atrocities firsthand,” he wrote. “I will continue to work with authorities to ensure that the perpetrator of this hate vandalism is swiftly brought to justice. As the son of Holocaust survivors, I believe we must continue to educate people about this terrible period in our history. Ignorance is no excuse for spreading messages of hate.”

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer also reached out to Sheepshead Bites by e-mail following our report, also to condemn the graffiti. He wrote:

I condemn hate crimes—from the five boroughs of New York City to every corner of the globe. Our extraordinary diversity is one of our greatest strengths. As such, any and all acts against people based on their sex, race, religion, color, or creed are attacks that cut to the very core of who we are as New Yorkers and what this City has meant and always will mean to people around the world. We stand united against these crimes, confident that the light of peace and justice will always triumph over the darkness of hate and prejudice.

While Treyger and others expressed gratitude to Sheepshead Bites for bringing attention to the anti-Semitic vandalism, the real credit goes to tipster Michael S. who was the first to speak up about it.

If you see an issue in the neighborhood that’s not getting the attention it deserves, send details and, if available, photos and video to editor [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com.

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  • EndofDaze

    This is so over the top, and typical of the local leaders who represent us! Falling all over themselves to have themselves condemning something, that all of us thoughtful folks abhor, but which thankfully is rarely seen in our area! Yet, when it comes to the increasing graffiti vandalism in our area, especially below the train underpasses, like on Avenue Y and Neck Road, there is no such clamor, to get rid of that widespread disgusting filth! Shameful!!!

    • HolocaustDescendant

      I’m glad somebody said it first. A swastika is drawn. Half the police force is called out, the entire political system of Brooklyn, and the mayor’s office is even involved! And how many government agencies got involved in this?
      Okay, you all made your point. You’re great people. You spoke out. You presented yourselves as superior human beings. You’ve proved to the world how caring you are. Give yourself the pat on the back that you’re looking for. And take a damned SELFIE while you’re at it. Get on Facebook and brag about it, show the world how concerned and great you are.
      BUT STOP WASTING THE PUBLIC’S TAX MONEY IN DOING ALL OF THIS!!!!!
      Somebody out there is saying about me right now, this guy’s a jerk, he has no idea what a swastika means, and what the Holocaust is about. Well, you are dead wrong. Some of my family fought the Nazis, both from the army, and from the concentration camps. It is PRECISELY this fact that makes me so angry that these pompous fools really degrade the memory and importance of the Holocaust with their false, publicity-seeking, tax-wasting outrage.
      I wish Sheepshead Bites would at least not devote TWO articles to this. One was certainly enough. Please don’t follow in the politician’s footsteps.

      • Anonymous

        It’s like reporting on school shootings, making a big deal on the news about it only fuels attention to whoever did it.

        • Jimmy

          Yes, you are absolutely right that Treyger and the other Jewish leaders in NYC are now constantly trying to play the religion card. Treyger the Russian, looks like some foul snarling “Wrong Turn” freak. But Stringer is no different. The United States has diversity all across our great land; however, only in NYC do you see a conglomeration of Jews. Blacks, Latinos and the Asians, enjoy healthy and blossoming populations all across our great country. In New York City, the Jews have created the greatest income inequality known to man. Feminists like Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinhem have been the brainchild behind the holocaust of the unborn white children. The white race is declining steadily across the world, due primarily to the influence of Jewish women. These publicity stunts are an act of desperation, from a group of people who know that the underrepresented races will not put up with the inequality any longer.