(Photo courtesy of Sen. Michael Gianaris office)
Nov. 25, 2019 By Allie Griffin
State Sen. Michael Gianaris is calling on the NYPD to investigate bigoted, anti-Muslim graffiti found on an Astoria bus shelter over the weekend as a hate crime.
Gianaris was alerted of the graffiti by a constituent who discovered the ugly words on the side of a bus shelter on Ditmars Boulevard near Steinway Street. It reads “If you see someone with a turban, chop it off!”
The senator has since penned a letter to NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill asking for a hate crime investigation, he announced today.
“Hate has no home in New York and we cannot tolerate these incidents in our communities. This should be investigated promptly as a hate crime,” Gianaris said. “Western Queens is among the most diverse places to live on the planet and this does not reflect who we are or what we aspire to be.”
Gianaris’ office has alerted the DOT of the graffiti. DOT is in charge of removing it.
A spokesperson for the NYPD said the graffiti has been removed and the incident is being investigated as a hate crime.
“We will never tolerate hate in our city in any form,” the spokesperson said. “There is a complaint report on file in the 114th Precinct for criminal mischief. This incident has been deemed a hate crime and the Hate Crime Task Force is investigating. The graffiti has since been removed.”
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42 Comments
My friends who used to live in Astoria and are visiting for Thanksgiving after being away for ten years are surprised by the number of Muslim people that live here now. Its one of the first things they noticed when we went for a walk. The second thing was the increase in crowds, traffic and bike lanes. They also said that Ditmars is a lot dirtier and louder. Anti-Muslim Graffiti has no place in Astoria.
What a hypocrite! Giannaris hates rich people and he hates people who want to improve the economy. He hates people who want to profit from their own hard work and innovative ideas. Very hard to tolerate.
ok boomer
He is America’s version of PASOK. He hates America.
this is about anti-muslim graffiti
Big deal. Its a bunch chicken scratch graffiti. Get over it.
So the politicos get angry over this but when I see graffiti in the 46th street R station that says “No More White Presidents, Fu** The White man, Kill Them all” that’s ok they don’t speak out about that? Why because it’s against white people, but oh the horror that some idiot writes something about the Muslim community. Screw that
#whatAboutism
The hypothetical you made up is interesting though
We Muslim we have been here for so long We’re the community We feel you feel. We raise our kids In good faith Look around you. There is a doctor or Lawyers Or police officer Fire fighter And other. They are our kids So hate. Crime. Should not be around any religion or Color …. lol. One of the time I was helping an old lady To cross the street ( she but. her hands around my arm ) So when we get the other side of the street She thanking me Saying thank you you are a very nice Jewish man Lol. I think hear back wishing her good health.
Why does this attention seeker generalize? I rarely if ever see Muslims here in NYC wearing turbans. The ones who mostly wear turbans are Sikhs, but hey defending Sikhs doesn’t fit his narrative, and it doesn’t get the media attentions that Muslims get.
This coming from a politician who killed jobs and crapped on Astoria. Hey Gianaris !! The guy will make bail mets tickets and gift cards. Thanks to our socialist this progressive move to end incarceration is working .
You know this article is about graffiti right? You can paste the generic “libruls bad” comment on a different article.
Indeed interesting how many people are clueless and think Sikhs are Muslims. They are not. Sikhism is one of the ten largest religions in the world.
That being said, it is sad to see prejudice and hatred being directed to anyone, whether they wear a turban, hijab, cross or yarmulke.
We live in “Little Egypt” here in Astoria and welcome our neighbors, whoever they are and wherever they came from. That’s the greatness of America. It is so sad to see so many ignorant kids, teens and adults who simply don’t understand!
What about the rest of the graffiti all over Astoria? What about the spike in crime? What about the homeless sleeping out the Broadway library? We can tolerate this kind of behavior. Job killer Gianaris to the rescue!
another JVB he did the same thing –
I’m not shocked bigotry doesn’t concern you
LMAO another hysterical comments not based in fact. Keep at it. Hope they don’t kick you out of the library today
Ok boomer.
Thanks for agreeing you don’t care about this bigotry at all.
You said something about a library? Ok…
Not bigotry. Probably some dumb kid writing this to stir up the liberals and their love of everyone. “We won’t tolerate hate!” “We welcome everyone!” Please go look for the perp and mete out justice.
Sure, we don’t have a single reason to believe that, but we can make stuff up. Probably more likely than “a bigot wrote bigoted things.”
I wonder why Trump lovers are so quick to dismiss bigotry? Hmm
Only the left can be racist if its fits the narrative.
Pat Macnamara you can “tolerate” hate speech? Really?
Hate Speech. Ok. Better find your safe space and hug your cabbage patch doll
Do you even know what that means
> find your safe space
Of course, you plainly have no argument at all, do you just call people names. But, “safe space?!” Can you find an insult that’s not from 2013?
The Muslim and Arabic community is here to stay and increasing in population especially in Northern Astoria. The daily hate some encounter in Astoria will not stop us as a growing community from buying and renting homes, opening business and schools and building mosques. Acts of hate, discrimination, ethnic hatred and racism will not win.
I want to ask the the people who don’t like Nadia’s comment (24 and counting) what is wrong with the comment???
Nadia’s comment is fine.
The 33 small-minded xenophobes who downvoted her represent a thankfully small percentage of area residents.
As long as intergration takes place, patriotism, allegiance to this country, society and it’s values is promoted, then the only thing that can be said, welcome fellow citizens
Muslims don’t wear turbans. They’re worn by Sikhs. Still offensive and wrong. Not Queens!
There is so many mentally ill people walking around in Astoria. I have lived here for a good number of years and do not recall ever hearing about so much crime and hate. It should be noted that based on conversations many of the new Astorian renters are making note of this especially with their mail and packages stolen throughout the Ditmars area and it being a lot more crowded, louder, dirtier and less safe than realtors and some landlords make it out to be. They see the increase in homeless people and mentally ill.
If you think Astoria (and NYC in general) is less safe now than it was in the 70’s and 80’s, then you are the one that’s mentally ill.
Do I need to turn my happy face on now because it’s marginally better now than 70s and 80s? Should people just stop at trying at improving society because 70s and 80s were worse?
The Ditmars area was very safe, quiet and clean during the 70’s and 80’s. Shops catered to the family oriented neighborhood and most closed at night. People slept with their windows opened during the summer and front doors were kept unlocked for the neighborhoods children so that they could play outside during the day. For the most part, residents knew what areas to avoid late at night and criminals knew to stay away from the residential areas of Ditmars. All i can say is that I raised my kids in the Ditmars area and it certainly was a lot safer and quieter than it is today. It is one of the reasons the neighborhood was very popular for families with children. People would recognize mostly everyone who passed by outside and the sense of community was very high.
LOL So NYPD will have to dedicate manpower because some 16 yr old wrote this instead of catching burglars, drunk drivers and so on. These politicians are clueless
Agreed – probably a kid (I hope)
It’s all part of their job.
The 114 doesn’t do much anyway, so it’s like multiplying zero by zero.
Some people did something.
Some people did something…and Senator Gianaris recognized that
Really makes ya think…