Queens Private Beach Club Targeted With Anti-Semitic Graffiti
A beach in Queens, New York Image by sx70/iStock
(JTA) — A playground at a private beach club in Queens was targeted with anti-Semitic and racist graffiti.
The playground at the Silver Gull was closed, the club announced on Friday, “due to the recent and increasing vandalism from within the club,” the New York Times reported Sunday.
Among the graffiti, according to the report, was “Heil Hitler,” swastikas, and the words “gas chamber” painted on a door. Racial slurs targeting black people also were discovered.
Nothing to see here. Just the “Gas Chamber” at a New York City beach club. Carry on.https://t.co/bRFpoAsrsX pic.twitter.com/dhY4wZY3Tl
— Kalman Yeger (@KalmanYeger) September 1, 2019
Club management called police over the incident, and also painted over the graffiti.
It is being investigated as a bias crime, Sgt. Richard Firrito, a spokesman for the United States Park Police in New York, told the newspaper.
The incident reportedly took place while the club was open. In addition to the graffiti, the shed used for arts programs was broken into and the equipment and supplies damaged.
"Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief"
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
