Battling Five Towns bias graffiti

The Nassau County police and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority police are joining forces to combat anti-Semitic graffiti after three new swastikas were found at the Cedarhurst and Woodmere Long Island Rail Road station this month.
County Executive Ed Mangano publicly announced that Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest in these incidents.
“…it is alarming that Cedarhurst and Woodmere residents have been subject to several hateful symbols on MTA properties,” Mangano said in a prepared release. “Nassau County will not tolerate these detestable acts and is partnering with the MTA by offering its intelligence-led policing assets to strengthen the MTA efforts to apprehend those responsible for such hate crimes.”
Previously a dozen similar incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti were reported at Five Towns LIRR stations between late 2012 and throughout 2013. In February of last year an arrest was made after a similar initiative was announced. The individual was charged with committing eight of those acts. Typically these incidents occur after midnight, police said.
“Neighbors in our communities have had enough of anti-Semitic graffiti,” County Legislator Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence) said in the statement. “Law enforcement will catch the perpetrator of this hate speech and we’ll get this ignorant person off the streets.”

Police officials said that recurring incidents of this nature are unusual. With the county police aggressively seeking to deter future acts, identify and arrest those responsible, they are increasing patrols of radio cars, uniformed police and detectives, and using monitored video surveillance cameras on station platforms.
“There is no place for any type of hate speech in any corner of Hempstead Town or anywhere else for that matter,” Councilman Anthony Santino said in the release.
Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-8477 or contact the MTA police Detective Division No. 2 at (516) 222-6501 and refer to PD case No. 12-14636. Calls are kept confidential.
“Crimes of this nature will not be tolerated in our community,” State Sen. Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) said in the release. “I ask that anyone with information regarding these terrible acts come forward and help law enforcement catch the perpetrators of these despicable acts.”