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Gay Pride Flag Burned On Homeowner's Private Property In Westchester Gay Pride Flag Burned On Homeowner's Private Property In Westchester
Gay Pride Flag Burned On Homeowner's Private Property In Westchester A gay pride flag was found torched on a Westchester homeowner’s property over the weekend, drawing scorn from county human rights and pride groups. Westchester County officials issued a statement on Sunday, Aug. 16, after a rainbow flag was found burned outside a home in Rye in an “act of hatred.” “The Westchester County Human Rights Commission and the Westchester County LGBTQ+ Advisory Board denounce and condemn the act of hatred committed by a perpetrator who cowardly burned a pride rainbow flag on a homeowner’s private property in Rye earlier this weekend,” officials wrote in a statement…

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by Zak Failla
News
Hudson Valley Man Charged With Making Anti-Semitic Death Threats To Fairfield County Resident Hudson Valley Man Charged With Making Anti-Semitic Death Threats To Fairfield County Resident
Hudson Valley Man Charged With Making Anti-Semitic Death Threats To Fairfield County Resident Federal officials have taken a Hudson Valley man into custody for allegedly making anti-Semitic death threats to a Jewish person from Fairfield County during religious holidays. Rockland County resident Christopher Rascoll, who has faced criminal charges before, has been charged with making death threats to the Stratford resident last year, beginning on the first day of Hanukkah. It is alleged that on Dec. 23 last year, Rascoll, of Blauvelt, began sending his victim - who is Jewish - threatening text messages, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John Durham said.  In several messages, …

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by Zak Failla
Politics
COVID-19: State's New Hate Crime Hotline Combats Racism COVID-19: State's New Hate Crime Hotline Combats Racism
Covid-19: State's New Hate Crime Hotline Combats Racism With reports rising regarding anti-Asian harassment and prejudice amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, New York's attorney general has launched a hotline to report hate crimes. Since the COVID-19 outbreak began in Wuhan, China and rapidly spread throughout the globe, there has been a rise in reports of xenophobia and racism tied to fears of the virus. In response, Attorney General Letitia James announced this week that she was launching a crime hotline at 1-800-771-7755. Complaints can also be emailed to civil.rights@ag.ny.gov. “Acts of bigoted and hateful behavior will NOT be …

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Attack On Asian Woman Could Be Coronavirus-Related Hate Crime, Cuomo Says COVID-19: Attack On Asian Woman Could Be Coronavirus-Related Hate Crime, Cuomo Says
Covid-19: Attack On Asian Woman Could Be Coronavirus-Related Hate Crime, Cuomo Says Police are investigating a case of what might be one of the first hate crimes associated with COVID-19 after a woman of Asian descent was physically assaulted for not wearing a mask. The attack reportedly took place around 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 10, while the woman was walking in Manhattan and was attacked by another woman who was yelling at her for not wearing a mask because she was Asian. "I am disgusted to hear that a woman of Asian descent was physically assaulted in Manhattan on Tuesday - an attack apparently motivated by the bigoted notion that an Asian person is more likely to car…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Trucks Of Armed Security Officers Now Patrol Rockland Synagogues After Hanukkah Attack Trucks Of Armed Security Officers Now Patrol Rockland Synagogues After Hanukkah Attack
Trucks Of Armed Security Officers Now Patrol Rockland Synagogues After Hanukkah Attack In the wake of a stabbing attack of five people celebrating Hannukah at a rabbi's home in Monsey, a high-profile security firm is providing extra security to the Hasidic Jewish community. During a press conference on Monday, Dec. 30, Rockland County Executive Ed Day announced that Brosan Security had offered to provide the coverage to fight what Day called "disturbing cancer taking place."  “We are fighting back as a community, as a county, we are fighting back,” Day said. According to Patrick Brosan, the CEO of the firm, the company will pay former FBI agents, state po…

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
$10,000 Reward Offered In Stabbing Attack On Rockland Man $10,000 Reward Offered In Stabbing Attack On Rockland Man
$10,000 Reward Offered In Stabbing Attack On Rockland Man A man who was beaten and stabbed multiple times while walking to a synagogue for morning prayers is in critical condition. Ramapo Police said the attack took place around 5:35 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 20, as the man approached the entrance to the driveway of the Mosdos Meharam Brisk Tashnad at 2 Howard Drive, in Monsey. During a press conference, Ramapo Police Chief Brad Weidel said he could not say if the "vicious assault" could be considered a hate crime, but did say a "prudent and deliberate investigation" would find if religion played a factor in the attack. The victim is reportedly …

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Some Syracuse University Students Leave Campus Early Due To Security Concerns Some Syracuse University Students Leave Campus Early Due To Security Concerns
Some Syracuse University Students Leave Campus Early Due To Security Concerns Citing safety concerns following a string of racist incidents and hate crimes, some Syracuse University students are leaving campus early before the official start of the Thanksgiving holiday break. This month, there have been at least a dozen incidents reported on campus, including racist graffiti, the shouting of racial slurs, swastikas posted and a white supremacist manifesto that was sent to students’ phones. The Daily Orange reported that some professors opted to cancel some classes this week, while the Department of Public Safety has been on high alert. The student newspaper said that…

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by Zak Failla
News
Swastikas Found Carved Into Starbucks Bathroom Door In Rockland Swastikas Found Carved Into Starbucks Bathroom Door In Rockland
Swastikas Found Carved Into Starbucks Bathroom Door In Rockland The discovery of two swastikas carved into the bathroom door of a Starbucks in Rockland County has drawn ire from both local and state officials. It's also caused officials to hammer the Starbucks' management in Nyack where the event took place more than three weeks ago, was not reported to police, and the fact that the swastikas were still visible, said Rockland County Executive Ed Day. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is also outraged that the crime was not reported and the doors are still in the restroom at the coffee shop located at 80 Main St., Nyack. One of the swastikas on the Starbucks door.E…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
31 Killed In Two Mass Shootings 12 Hours Apart In Ohio, Texas 31 Killed In Two Mass Shootings 12 Hours Apart In Ohio, Texas
31 Killed In Two Mass Shootings 12 Hours Apart In Ohio, Texas This story has been updated. Separate mass shootings 12 hours apart left 31 people dead and dozens injured in Ohio and Texas. The first shooting happened at a Walmart at a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas, just after 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 3 local time (and 1 p.m. Eastern time). In that incident, 22 people were killed and 26 injured. It is unclear why the 21-year-old suspect taken into custody, who is from the Dallas suburb of Allen, Texas, targeted El Paso, on the border of Mexico, and about 650 miles away. Less than an hour before the gunman opened fire, police said they believe he poste…

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by Joe Lombardi
Politics
Video: Cuomo Says After Anti-Semitic Incident In Hudson Valley Rise In Hate Crimes A Concern Video: Cuomo Says After Anti-Semitic Incident In Hudson Valley Rise In Hate Crimes A Concern
Video: Cuomo Says After Anti-Semitic Incident In Hudson Valley Rise In Hate Crimes A Concern Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York State Police Superintendent Keith Corlett joined forces to make a strong statement following the arrest of a Saugerties man for an anti-Semitic hate crime. "If you attack a Jewish person, you attack me. If you attack a Muslim person, you attack me. You attack an LGBTQ member, you attack me,” said Cuomo during the Friday, March 22 address. “That's the New York credo...Bias-related crimes, hate crimes, are not just wrong, they're not just unethical, they're not just immoral - they are illegal and we will prosecute every case to the fullest extent of the law. And …

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by Valerie Musson
News
ID Released For Teen Charged With Hate Crime At SUNY Purchase ID Released For Teen Charged With Hate Crime At SUNY Purchase
ID Released For Teen Charged With Hate Crime At SUNY Purchase A teenage SUNY Purchase student has been arraigned after spreading more than a dozen Nazi-themed posters on campus over the weekend. Gunnar Hassard, 18, was arraigned in Harrison Town Court on Tuesday, Dec. 11, after as many as 16 posters were spread throughout the SUNY Purchase campus on Anderson Hill Road in Harrison on Sunday. The posters reportedly had images of Adolf Hitler and a swastika. Hassard, of Oneonta, allegedly hung multiple posters, which incorporated a swastika and symbols of Nazi Germany, on and near the Humanities Building. The complaint states that the flyers on the campu…

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by Zak Failla
News
Warwick Teen Pleads Guilty In Anti-Semitic Incident Warwick Teen Pleads Guilty In Anti-Semitic Incident
Warwick Teen Pleads Guilty In Anti-Semitic Incident An Orange County teen pleaded guilty Wednesday to tampering with physical evidence and conspiracy as a hate crime, for his part in anti-Semitic graffiti being spray-painted on walls at a Jewish cemetery, according to Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler. The charges against the teen, Eric Carbonaro, 18, of Warwick,  stem from an investigation into the spray-painting of swastikas and other anti-Semitic symbols at the Beth Shalom Cemetery in the Town of Warwick on Oct. 8 and 9, 2016, the DA's Office said.  The New York State Police, and the Town of Warwick Police Department, aided…

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by Kathy Reakes