Cops are hunting for a vandal who created a swastika out of MTA flyers and stuck it on an elevator at the 96th St. Station on the Upper West Side.
Video of the incident was released Tuesday.
In it, a man is seen on Dec. 31st around 6:20 a.m. using MTA advisory flyers to create a swastika, according to police. He then stuck it on the glass exterior of the station’s elevator.
This comes as NYPD stats reveal a disturbing increase of reported hate crimes throughout the city.
The total number of hate crimes in 2019 jumped 20% compared to 2018, according to statistics released by the police department earlier this month. Anti-Semitic incidents alone increased 26% last year.
The rise of anti-Semitic attacks has led police to beef up security at Jewish houses of worship, according to Police Commissioner Dermot Shea. The NYPD has also created a new unit in the department’s Intelligence Bureau called REME, for Racially and Ethnically Motivated Extremism.
The REME was created specifically to monitor and prevent extremist driven violence.
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