Hochul directs state police to investigate antisemitic graffiti in Montauk
People attended a rally at the Montauk Village Green Thursday in response to antisemitic graffiti discovered in Shadmoor State Park. Credit: Doug Kuntz
For the second time in a little more than a year and just days before the start of Hanukkah, antisemitic graffiti has been found in the Town of East Hampton, this time at Shadmoor State Park in Montauk.
Officials said the graffiti included swastikas and, in one instance, a phrase in German.
In October 2023, swastikas and antisemitic graffiti were found at Ditch Plains Beach and on stores in the Montauk downtown business district.
The latest antisemitic graffiti was discovered spray-painted Thursday morning in Shadmoor, a 99-acre park along the ocean coast just west of Ditch Plains. The incident, first investigated by East Hampton Town police, drew immediate condemnation from officials, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, who directed the state police to investigate.
“The discovery of hateful graffiti, including a swastika, at Shadmoor State Park is abhorrent and deeply disturbing," Hochul said in a statement. "These hateful actions are an attack on the values of inclusion and respect that define us as New Yorkers. As we continue to confront the rise of antisemitism and hate across the country, let this serve as a reminder that we must remain vigilant and united against these vile acts."
A rally protesting the graffiti was held Thursday at the Montauk Village Green.
Speaking at the town board meeting Thursday night, East Hampton Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez said the vandalism is "… devastating and heartbreaking to our Jewish family, friends and neighbors tearing at the fabric of our entire community. Fortunately, the love for community is stronger here than the symbols of hate discovered in Shadmoor today."
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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