Racist graffiti in Merrick latest in 'bias incident' surge

Community react to the marks

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Nassau County police are looking into the latest in a series of incidents involving racist graffiti, this time in Merrick.

According to police, a customer at the 7-Eleven on Merrick Avenue discovered anti-Semitic graffiti in block letters written on an outside wall on Dec. 16.
Detectives are currently investigating.

This incident is one of several in the area in recent weeks, and came as New York City police have reported a 400 percent increase in such incidents since the Nov. 8 election, according to an Associated Press report.

Rabbi Judy Cohen-Rosenberg from the Community Reform Temple, a temple that services the Westbury, Salisbury and East Meadow communities, said she is “tremendously upset” by the incidents that keep creeping closer and closer to home.

“I would’ve hoped the spirit of the time of the year between Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas would be a time for more unity and peace,” Cohen-Rosenberg said, “but at the risk of being political, I think the recent election has given reasons to people to aggress in this way.”

On Dec. 16, police began investigating multiple swastikas drawn in a bathroom at Nassau County Community College. On Nov. 30, police discovered a spray-painted swastika, accompanied by the phrase, “Make America white again,” on a Washington Avenue home in Mineola. Police also found “vulgar and disparaging remarks” about African-Americans and Middle Eastern people at that home and on a sidewalk in town. And just Sunday morning, police reported the discovery of five swastikas drawn in the snow near a Fairfield Avenue residence in Mineola.

“We’re going into the Hanukkah season where we put the menorah in the window,” Cohen-Rosenberg added. “And I hope the message of religious freedom is one that everyone hears when we do that. The Jewish community is not going to be frightened away. We have as much right to be here as anyone else. It’s going to stay that way. We regret not everybody feels this way, and I hope that minds and hearts can be changed.”

“I was surprised by these anti-Semitic incidents,” Rabbi Ronald Androphy, of the East Meadow Jewish Center, said. “We have enjoyed very good interfaith relations here on Long Island and especially in the East Meadow area. I think this good will, which has existed here for decades, is the theme of the holiday season, which will ultimately prevail.”  

In regards to the Middle Eastern remarks, Town Clerk Nasrin Ahmad said that the Muslim population in America is just as much a part of the U.S. as any other group. She stressed that American-Muslims are peaceful. "Those who practice Islam have no association with terrorism like many think," she said. "Islam is a peaceful religion. American-Muslims work just as hard as anyone else to make this beautiful country their home."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office has noticed the “uptick in recent reports of discrimination, bias-motivated threats, harassment and violence,” and has launched a toll-free hotline to report such incidents.

“New York serves as a beacon of hope and opportunity for all, and we will continue to stand up to those who seek to spread the politics of division, fear and hate,” Cuomo said in a statement. “This state celebrates our differences because we know that it is the rich fabric of cultures and customs that makes this one of the greatest, most diverse places in the world. We will continue to work with our local partners to investigate all incidents of reported bias, and ensure that New Yorkers feel safe and protected. Any acts of discrimination or intimidation will be met with the full force of the law.”

Anyone wishing to report incidents of bias or discrimination is encouraged to call the statewide toll-free hotline at (888) 392-3644 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. 

Nassau County police have also requested that anyone with information about any of the above incidents call the Nassau County Crime Stoppers at (800) 244-TIPS, where all callers will remain anonymous.