Officials tour Borough Park playground after antisemitic graffiti attack

After back-to-back incidents of antisemitic vandalism at Gravesend Park on Tuesday and Wednesday — in which vandals painted a total of 57 swastikas and the name of Adolf Hitler on playground equipment, walkways and walls in red and blue — City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Council Member Eric Dinowitz (D-Bronx) toured the playground Jan. 22 alongside community members, condemning the hateful attacks.

The park, located at 18th Avenue and 56th Street in Borough Park, sits in a neighborhood home to about 100,000 Jewish New Yorkers and is frequented by many Orthodox Jewish children.

Menin, the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and the first Jewish speaker of the City Council, called the vandalism “disgusting, deplorable, and unconscionable.”

“We’re here today because it’s completely unacceptable that two days in a row, over 57 swastikas have been painted onto this playground,” Menin said, noting that the City Council will introduce a package of bills addressing antisemitism on Jan. 29, with a vote scheduled for Feb. 12.

The five-point action plan to combat antisemitism includes establishing buffer zones around houses of worship to protect congregants from protesters, creating a dedicated antisemitism reporting hotline, funding security at private schools, and providing community-based security training for Jewish organizations.

Menin pointed out that while Jewish New Yorkers make up about 10% of the city’s population, 57% of all reported hate crimes are antisemitic, underscoring the importance of education.

Last year, then-Council Member Menin launched a Holocaust education initiative in partnership with the Museum of Jewish Heritage aimed at teaching 85,000 eighth graders about the Holocaust in an effort to combat rising antisemitism. As part of the five-point plan, $1.25 million in new funding over two fiscal years is allocated to the museum for a virtual Holocaust education experience, expanded school outreach and broader access for students citywide.

“Studies are showing that 34% of young people believe the Holocaust is a myth or exaggerated. When you have that kind of disinformation and misinformation, that is what fuels hate, and that is why education is simply the best antidote to fight hate,” Menin explained. “When we hear about a young person painting 57 swastikas, then we need to make sure that the schools in New York City and the city government is doing its job to educate young people about hate. We must do more to combat hate, and the key is through education.”

Dinowitz, chair of the City Council Committee on Education, called the incidents “atrocious” and urged government action.

“We have to educate our kids, and we have to make sure people are safe to go to school and to go to synagogue. And this is the type of action we need to take. We need to take a page out of the book from the Jewish community that comes together in times of crisis, and really make sure things like this do not happen again, both through education and prevention,” Dinowitz said.

Deborah Halberstam, whose 16-year-old son Ari was murdered in a terrorist attack on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1994, said condemnation alone was insufficient and called for “immediate” change and accountability.

“I am appalled and disgusted by today’s news. It is not enough that our elected officials and social media outlets are condemning this attack. There should be a line of all people from all races and all religions lined up in support and condemnation of this around the block, in every park in this city,” Halberstam said, stressing the importance of the five-point plan and education.

“If this does not happen, it will lead to much, much worse,” she added.

NYPD Assistant Chief Charles Minch, who oversees Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, said one person of interest was in custody but declined to comment on the individual’s age. He said the NYPD takes hate crimes “very seriously.”

“The investigation is still ongoing,” Minch said. “Our Hate Crimes Task Force is working on this tirelessly from the start, and also our community partners, who have been a great help with this.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul also condemned the vandalism, which remains under investigation by the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force.

“I am sickened by this antisemitic vandalism in Borough Park. Antisemitism has no place in our city, and I stand shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish New Yorkers who were targeted,” Mamdani wrote on X, adding that his administration was working closely with the NYPD and the Parks Department and that those responsible would be held accountable.

Hochul said on X that she had directed the New York State Crimes Task Force to assist the NYPD.

“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,” the governor wrote.3