Council Member Bob Holden observing the ugly graffiti at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Elmhurst Park today (twitter)
June 2, 2021 By Christian Murray
Hate-filled vandals scrawled swastikas and other ugly messages on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Elmhurst Park today.
The graffiti blanketed the memorial that features the names of 371 service members from Queens who gave up their lives in the Vietnam war.
“This is the worst vandalism I have seen in all my years,” said Council Member Bob Holden. “It’s very crude. It’s anti God, anti-soldier, anti-police, anti-everything.”
The vandals sprayed the words “baby killers” and lewd statements about God, along with swastikas in several places.
Holden said that the graffiti comes just days after a number of Memorial Day events were held at the park. He said that the police have notified him that they will be pursuing this as a hate crime.
“This is an insult to the United States and to every freedom-loving member of New York City,” Holden said. “It’s an insult to the soldiers who died.”
I am deeply disgusted by this cowardly act of vandalism at the Queens Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
I am working @NYPD110Pct to make sure the perpetrator is brought to justice. I offer a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the sick soul who did it. pic.twitter.com/tKlcKzNsz8— Robert Holden (@BobHoldenNYC) June 2, 2021
He noted that some of the graffiti is anti-NYPD, with a swastika scribbled next to the number 110, as in the 110th Precinct.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, who was the borough president when the memorial was completed in 2019, said that she would work with the NYPD to make sure the people responsible are held accountable.
The memorial sits on the northwest corner of Elmhurst Park, by the intersection of Grand Avenue and 79th Street. It features two walls facing each other and a flag poll.
“This is only Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Queens that pays homage to all the fallen service men and women from this borough,” Katz, who visited the ugly scene today, said. “The attack on the memorial, in this park, is a foul, criminal act.”
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz assessing the hate-filled graffiti at the memorial today (Photo: Courtesy of DA Katz)
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31 Comments
I disagree with Holden who said the graffiti was “anti everything.” It wasn’t anti-Palestinian! From the river to the sea Palestine will be free! No more Israel. It’s coming.
Hate crimes by people of color.
Because he embodies it: http://www.queensfreepress.com/2021/06/03/whos-the-racist/
Great investigative piece showing how Holden has amplified racist, Islamophobic, xenophobic, homophobic, pretty much any-phobic speech in his recent past. Absolutely unfit for office!
Bigotry all around. The owners of the abandoned Sunnyside Centre theatre have put a sign on their billboard From The River to the Sea. This is code for the destruction of Israel. If somebody put up anti- Black slogans they would be immediately denounced. Why does this stand?
Really? Who owns that theatre now? I saw that sign today and did not get the reference.
Let’s make a guess
Members of Democrat socialists of America put up revolting marquee
So they committed a thought crime?
Are Holden and Katz the only local politicians publicly condeming this vile act? Nothing in the article about AOC, JVB, Schumer and their fellow travellers denouncing this.
They are complicit in their silence.
Holden and Katz are the only ones who cares. As for AOC, JVB, Schumer…caring about this does not fit their agenda.
I agree that this is a vile act, but as for AOC and Schumer, don’t you think they have ‘bigger fish to fry’ given they are politicians on a national level? I think they have been dabbling in local politics to attempt to gain popularity for their campaigns and agendas. They have probably done too much of that. It’s probably not that they don’t care. But, I would rather have a national level politician represent my interests at a national level. This issue is for the local politicians, the police, and the mayor.
Not that I want to defend any of these political buffoons, but try to understand the roles of these politicians before you make demands. The role of House and Senate members is not to discuss offensive graffiti in a city park.
Well, if the guy that vandalized 46 cars in Astoria only got a desk ticket, then these thugs feel free to do whatever they want.
Until they get severe punishments, i.e. life in prison, no parole, this is going to keep happening.
What? Too harsh? Well, they choose to vandalize, they don’t have to do it.
This has no place in Queens
At the point in time I would like to
Give special thanks to
Our oh so Progressive Politicians
At the local , city , state and National level.
With their defund the cops , reward the criminals policies this is where we are at. Do you think this despicable sub human crime would have happened when
Giuliani or Bloomberg were Mayor. Elections are around the corner.
Several shootings this weekend, among the victims a 15 year old boy DEAD, Recently a 4 year old shot in Times Square ,thank you Jimmy, Thank you Gianaris, is the the progressive future you want? How many of these stories about some thug getting arrested for a violent crime who is on probation or who was arrested several
Times in the last year only to be turned loose on law abiding peaceful citizens because the Judge has no choice under some dumb laws brought to you by progressives. In District 26 vote for Denise keehan-smith or vote for one of 14 police defunders , criminal lovers!
The average age of a brave US soldier in
Vietnam was 19, I wonder what was the age of these Cowardly thugs. The soldiers in Vietnam were fighting to stop
The spread of Communism, Progressives today are busy spreading Socialism and Communism!
Decent people in our city cannot be fooled by these progressives. Stop voting for them. They are divisive. Fighting racism with racism will not win.
Well when you allow people to vandalize and destroy private and public during protests and call them peaceful and justified…this is what happens. Some start feeling its time to cancel something else.
So sad. If u haven’t served u don’t know what veterans feel. Don’t hate the men that served. Dislike the politicians that supported for that war
This makes me nauseous. My dad is a Vietnam veteran and I can’t imagine the pain he would have felt if he saw this.
Sounds like a local homeless hippie just snapped out of his decades long drugged up stupor and went right back to protesting the draft.
More like some woke, millienial, antifa, trustfund brat with unresolved daddy issues.
This is the closest thing we have to Trump’s Twitter account now
This is a disgrace. Queens is the most diverse county in the world!
It an attack against all Americans. Lock them up as traitors. Jail time. Its an insult .
I’m not sure why anyone is surprised by this. Graffiti is rampant throughout NYC since the beginning of Covid and continues to get worse under this mayor. Nothing is sacred and no on gets punished for breaking the law in this city.
All of these candidates are for better schools,equality, affordable housing. Well, none of that effects me. I care about quality of life issues. Crime,quality of life issues. Why doesn’t somebody address that?
I think this attack was disgusting. My husband was a Vietnam veteran .he didnt die there .but he was spit on when he came home . He sufferd many years from ptsd and illnesses from agent orange.he would never tell anybody he was there.becaucse people did not respect the viet nam veterans.and our government let the draft Dodgers get away with not serving our country. At19 my husband fought in the war .shame on the disrespect people have.
This is just going to keep happening. The criminals are emboldened. And liberal politicians who lean too far left have allowed it. We have seen this before. Next few years are gonna suck. But when armchair liberals start being affected by crime, they will change their tune. It’s just gonna take time and it’s gonna be bad for a while.
Each crime can be linked to a leftist soft on crime policy…for example, Alexander Wright attacked a woman in China town…he was a career criminal. Leftist legislation allowed him to roam the streets despite being a career criminal. He should have been locked up and kept away from the public.
This is exactly the kind of hate that drove Robert Holden to office, so it’s no wonder hate crimes have increased during his watch. Please vote him out and set a good example to the city that we are above having a hateful bigot in office.
You must be confused
Holden likes veterans
You sound like crazed leftist
Robert Holden is one of the only competent councilmen out there. What are you talking about. Robert actually cares about safety and well being of his district.
Progressives are more concerned with virtue signaling, taking away from home owners and people who worked hard to achieve wealth and assets, and total chaos and anarchy by petitioning to abolish police. (Read their essays: “Defund” is a stepping stone to “abolish”…we need to defend law and order.
It seems you are conflating competence with your own personal ideological agreement with his simplistic views on complex issues that are beyond his severely limited capability to address. Those are two VERY different things. But I may be mistaken, so please name Holden’s top three achievements as councilman and why they merit your endorsement. I’m all ears!