Two teens were arrested and charged after allegedly spray painting dozens of swastikas and other antisemitic language at a Brooklyn playground where many Jewish children play, according to police.
A hate crime investigation was launched after nearly five dozen of the hate symbols were found painted on walls, a court and a slide at Gravesend Park in Borough Park late Wednesday morning. One wall noticeably had the words “Adolf Hitler” written on it, photos showed.
Crews were seen painting over the graffiti later in the day, but not before the NYPD started investigating the vandalism as a hate crime.
The Anti-Defamation League emphasized that the swastikas were painted in the same park two days in a row. Police said more than a dozen swastikas were discovered on the playground and handball court in that incident.
On Thursday, two 15-year-old boys were arrested in connection with the incidents. One was charged with aggravated harassment and criminal mischief as a hate crime, while the other faces multiple counts of aggravated harassment.
“I am sickened by this antisemitic vandalism …. Antisemitism has no place in our city, and I stand shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish New Yorkers who were targeted,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called it a “depraved act of antisemitism. In a children’s playground where our kids should feel safe and have fun. There is no excuse. There is zero tolerance.”
Attorney information for the two teen suspects was not immediately available.
