‘I am disgusted’: Cuomo orders hate crime probe of neo-Nazi graffiti in upstate N.Y. town
Gov. Cuomo ordered State Police on Thursday to launch a hate crimes investigation into the “cowards” who spray-painted swastikas and other hateful symbols on a building in the upstate New York town of Perinton.
The racist graffiti was spotted on an apartment building in the Rochester suburb early Thursday, and Cuomo said he got sick to his stomach upon learning of it.
“I am disgusted,” the governor said in a statement. “This hateful language was written by cowards who only seek to divide and instill fear in our communities, and we have zero tolerance for it in New York.”
The State Police’s hate crimes task force will work alongside the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office in investigating the vandalism, Cuomo said.
In addition to a red swastika, photos showed that the racist vandals also spray-painted “KKK” on the building.
“New York has been and always will be a beacon of diversity and acceptance, and we will continue to stand united in condemning these vile acts of hate whenever and wherever we see them,” Cuomo said.
Workers at the apartment complex rapidly scrubbed away the hateful messages, according to Meredith Stockman-Broadbent, a local councilwoman.
“They are already removing the graffiti,” Stockman-Broadbent tweeted along with a photo of a worker power-washing the facade. “Thank you to the management for taking care of this so quickly. Hate has no place in Perinton.”