Police investigate racist graffiti in Huntington Station
Huntington Station residents clean a fence that contained racist graffiti on Monday, Aug. 14, 2017. Credit: Marcus Villagran
Suffolk County police are investigating racist graffiti written on a fence in Huntington Station, police said Monday.
Assistant Commissioner Justin Meyers said in an email that detectives from the department’s Hate Crimes Section are investigating the graffiti, which was found “painted on a fence this morning” on the corner of Depot Road near Bogart Street.
A photo posted on Facebook and confirmed by police showed the graffiti, which advocated violence against white people.
Huntington Town spokesman A.J. Carter said a town refuse worker first spotted the graffiti, and the town notified police and the property owner.
The town covered the graffiti with a tarp, Carter said, and the property owner removed the graffiti by 1:30 p.m.
In a statement Monday, Assemb. Chad Lupinacci (R-Huntington) said upset residents contacted his office about the vandalism and its message and are “shaken.”
“As someone who was born and raised in Huntington Station, I want to reassure the community that such acts of hatred will not be tolerated here, as they are not tolerated anywhere in New York,” Lupinacci said. “Hate speech directed towards any group of people needs to be publicly denounced now more than ever. Our support of free speech does not translate into tolerance for hate speech, and hate speech of any kind in our community is unacceptable.”
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
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