The New York Police Department is investigating two instances in the past few days where swastikas were drawn near children’s play areas.
Sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning, swastikas were found in black marker beneath a slide at Brighton Playground in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn.
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The symbols were found just days after dozens of swastikas, a Nazi eagle, and “Hail Hitler” (sic) were drawn in chalk on the pavement of a Queens schoolyard.
The NYPD’s hate crime task force is investigating the two incidents, according to CNN.
A New York City councilman, Chaim Deutsch, called on Mayor Bill de Blasio to create a Hate Crime Prevention Office.
“Are swastikas in playgrounds the new normal?” Deutsch tweeted Monday morning. “Enough is enough. It’s way past time to #TakeAction. @NYCMayor- please implement Hate Crime Prevention Office!”
Are swastikas in playgrounds the new normal?
Last night I was notified of swastikas on play equipment in Brighton Beach. I alerted @NYPD60Pct, who are investigating.
Enough is enough. It’s way past time to #TakeAction.@NYCMayor– please implement Hate Crime Prevention Office! pic.twitter.com/eo0DKa41fA
— Councilman Deutsch (@ChaimDeutsch) February 25, 2019
Another member of the city council said that she was “disgusted” by the show of anti-Semitism in the city.
“I am horrified, disgusted, and nauseated, to say the least, of what I have witnessed today. Nazi imagery and anti-Semitic slurs were drawn at the PS 139 Playground in Rego Park. I was on the scene today and most of the imagery has been washed away. Enough is enough!” Karen Koslowitz tweeted.
I am horrified, disgusted, and nauseated, to say the least, of what I have witnessed today. Nazi imagery and anti-Semitic slurs were drawn at the PS 139 Playground in Rego Park. I was on the scene today and most of the imagery has been washed away. Enough is enough! pic.twitter.com/vteXmlqQyk
— Karen Koslowitz (@CMKoslowitz) February 22, 2019
Hate crimes have been a topic of discussion lately, especially in Chicago where “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett allegedly faked an attack on himself.
Smollett, who is black and gay, claimed the attack was a hate crime carried out by two Trump-supporting white men who yelled racist and homophobic slurs while beating him up, tying a rope around his beck, and throwing bleach on him.
