Hunt for swastika creep
POLICE ARE ON the hunt for a person who carved nearly 30 swastikas into newly poured concrete in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn over the weekend.
Surveillance video (photo inset) taken early Saturday morning shows a dark-haired man holding a small flashlight in his mouth as he etched swastika after swastika into the cement along Newkirk Ave. in Midwood.
Property owners discovered the vandalism Monday and alerted police, Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) said.
“This guy is on camera as clear as can be,” Hikind said. “A swastika is the ultimate symbol of hate. What would motivate somebody to do that?”
Hikind said the videos have been turned over to the NYPD’s 70th Precinct.
The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident. Police believe the culprit is a teenager. “Our community supports and works with the police,” said Hikind. “I have great confidence that the perpetrator of this hate crime will be caught.” DAY ONE of the Summer of Hell was more like purgatory for commuters across the city who squeezed into trains and buses amid the much-ballyhooed track work at Penn Station.
Instead of the fire and brimstone that was expected to accompany a 20% cut in Long Island Rail Road service to accommodate Amtrak repairs, passengers were pleasantly surprised by trains that ran — relatively — on time, even if they needed a shoehorn and a running start to get on board.
“It was great,” commuter David Cohen, 64, said of his ride into the city from Long Island. “No complaints. I assume so far from what I see it doesn’t look like there’s any kind of problem right now.”
“Hell” seemed surprisingly bearable, too, for Tiajuana Garrett, 63, a social worker who caught a 7:30 a.m. ferry from Hoboken, N.J., to Midtown.
“You know, I want to be upset with the changes. But I’m having a joyful ride. This is lovely,” said Garrett, who usually takes NJ Transit into Penn Station to get to work. “It’s a pleasure of a way to start my day.”
More than 600,000 suburban straphangers were bracing for an apocalyptic day on the rails amid warnings, announcements and color-coded survival guides aimed at easing the expected headache.
In anticipation of the chaos, officials urged riders to work from home. Failing that, they said to use alternative entry points, including Hoboken Terminal, Atlantic Terminal and ferry service — and they provided incentives for riders to avoid Penn Station.
PATH trains and city subways were beefed up to absorb the extra load, and the MTA added parkand-ride bus options throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties.
“I think the riders did everything perfect today,” said a happy MTA Chairman Joe Lhota, who was among the day’s passengers. “When it works well it works very well, and this morning it worked very well. I wish I had a piece of wood to knock on.”