NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Police are searching for a man who’s been etching swastikas on Queens streets, including outside a synagogue, as a new report shows New York state has seen a dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents.
The NYPD believes the suspect, whose photo they released Friday, is behind at least a half-dozen incidents in Forest Hills and Rego Park in the past week. He’s vandalized at night and during the day, even striking right outside a police station, cops said.
The most recent swastika was etched into a sidewalk in front of a residential building at Austin Street and 63rd Drive around 3:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Police said the man used an object to etch the hate symbol into the cement and then fled the scene.
Less than two hours earlier, they believe he etched a swastika into the sidewalk in front of the Reform Temple of Forest Hills at 112th Street and 71st Road.
On Tuesday morning, a swastika was found in front of a residential building at 72nd Drive and 112th Street.
And on Monday night, a swastika was etched onto sidewalks at two more locations. One was carved outside a residential building at 72nd Drive and Queens Boulevard, and two more were chiseled at 102nd Street and 65th Road, just down the street from a junior high school.
The earliest reported incident was on Saturday, when two swastikas were found to have been etched right outside the NYPD’s 112th Precinct stationhouse at Yellowstone Boulevard and Austin Street.
Antisemitic incidents were up 39% in New York state in 2022, according to the latest report by the Anti-Defamation League.
“The increase in antisemitism over the past few years is incredibly disturbing, and to think that New York is the state with the highest number of antisemitic incidents year after year is particular concerning,” said Scott Richmond, regional director of the ADL.
“It’s on the rise in 2023, but this isn’t just about the rise in the past couple of years, this is really about something we see as being about a decade old,” Richmond said.
He called it a “wakeup call for all of us,” not only Jews, as there’s been a “general rise in hate” plaguing society.
There were 580 incidents in New York state in 2022, compared to 416 incidents in 2021. Numbers rose across all categories, including harassment, vandalism and assault. Most of them occurred in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
There is an invitation to prayer at the Reform Temple of Forest Hills on Friday night to stand together in the face of hate.
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