It’s anything but child’s play.
Hateful words and symbols found scribbled across the school yard.
At P.S. 139 in Rego Park, Friday morning is chalked up to anti-Semitism.
Neighbors say they’re disgusted.
The NYPD hate crimes task force closed the playground to investigate who’s responsible for the drawings of several dozen swastikas and even a misspelled ‘Heil Hitler.’
“This is a terrible situation we have to do something against this hate so I hope police will do proper investigation and they gonna catch the people who did this kind of work,” one neighbor said.
The school custodian who discovered it washed away the hateful messages. Neighbors in the diverse community say they are disturbed the images defaced a school yard where children play.
Parents say their kids are forced to face some ugly truths. Referring to his child, one parent said, “It’s shocking to him and I would have to explain to him what that means and he tried that comes from and where that comes from it’s embarrassing that the times that we’re in right now.”
The vandalism comes along with a rising tide of anti-Semitic crime and graffiti in the city. City council member Chaim Deutsch says it marks nearly 50 cases of hate against the Jewish community this year alone. He’s calling on the mayor to sign legislation passed this year to fund educational outreach to combat anti-Semitism.
Neighbors say it is necessary.
As of Friday night the NYPD says it doesn't know who is responsible for the vandalism, but the Hate Crimes Task Force is continuing its investigation.