Yorktown to Commission Unity Mural Where Hate Speech Found
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The Yorktown Town Board is seeking permission from New York State officials to paint a unity mural at the site where hate speech was discovered earlier this month.
On Tuesday, the Town Board adopted a “Hate Has No Home” resolution that involved making a mural request to the state and directing the Yorktown Arts & Culture Committee to organize the rules by which the town can accept mural proposals from artists.
Hateful graffiti, that included racial epithets, was found May 21 on the northbound overpass on the Taconic State Parkway on Croton Dam Road in Yorktown but is believed to have been created earlier.
Yorktown Police were notified of the incident and covered the racist comments after they arrived on the scene. Police referred the incident to Westchester County Police and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.
“The chief of police and the Police Department are working very hard in trying to determine who may have done this hateful act,” said Councilman Tom Diana, a former police officer.
The anti-Semitic and racist graffiti incident was found one month after Yorktown held its annual Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony.
Yorktown Supervisor Matt Slater said the incident made him angry because it does not reflect most people in Yorktown. He noted that hate speech can lead to violence like the mass shootings in Buffalo and Texas. He called on residents of all political affiliations to reject hate speech.
“If you don’t think for a second that there are consequences for the disgusting and vile hatred that people are poisoning this society with, you’re wrong,” Slater remarked.
“Take deep breath around it and feel into what the fear is when someone reads those hateful words,” said Councilwoman Luciana Haughwout. “It’s really important that we feed this hate with love and acceptance and understanding and try to help educate not only the person with this hate, but also the community.”
Earlier this month, voters approved a school budget that will hire a new school resource officer in September for the Crompond, Brookside and Mohansic elementary schools. The new officer will become the eighth school resource officer in Yorktown’s two school districts.
“It’s quite disappointing and angering,” said Councilman Ed Lachterman. “There’s something lacking where people don’t understand the significance and meaning of those words. Hopefully, it’s something that can be addressed on an educational level.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
