{"id":28101,"date":"2026-01-22T23:39:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T04:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/2026\/01\/22\/teens-arrested-for-vandalizing-brooklyn-playground-with-swastikas\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T23:39:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T04:39:26","slug":"teens-arrested-for-vandalizing-brooklyn-playground-with-swastikas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/2026\/01\/22\/teens-arrested-for-vandalizing-brooklyn-playground-with-swastikas\/","title":{"rendered":"Teens Arrested for Vandalizing Brooklyn Playground with Swastikas"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Introduction to the Incident<\/h2>\n<p>Two teens were arrested and charged after allegedly spray painting dozens of swastikas and other antisemitic language at a Brooklyn playground where many Jewish children play, according to police.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nA hate crime investigation was launched after nearly five dozen of the hate symbols were found painted on walls, a court and a slide at Gravesend Park in Borough Park late Wednesday morning. One wall noticeably had the words &quot;Adolf Hitler&quot; written on it, photos showed.<\/p>\n<h2>Details of the Vandalism<\/h2>\n<p>Crews were seen painting over the graffiti later in the day, but not before the NYPD started investigating the vandalism as a hate crime.<br \/>\nThe Anti-Defamation League emphasized that the swastikas were painted in the same park two days in a row. Police said more than a dozen swastikas were discovered on the playground and handball court in that incident.<\/p>\n<h2>Arrests and Charges<\/h2>\n<p>On Thursday, two 15-year-old boys were arrested in connection with the incidents. One was charged with aggravated harassment and criminal mischief as a hate crime, while the other faces multiple counts of aggravated harassment.<\/p>\n<h2>Reaction from Authorities<\/h2>\n<p>&quot;I am sickened by this antisemitic vandalism \u2026. Antisemitism has no place in our city, and I stand shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish New Yorkers who were targeted,&quot; Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement.<br \/>\nNew York Gov. Kathy Hochul called it a &quot;depraved act of antisemitism. In a children&#8217;s playground where our kids should feel safe and have fun. There is no excuse. There is zero tolerance.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Legal Proceedings<\/h2>\n<p>Attorney information for the two teen suspects was not immediately available.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>The incident highlights the ongoing issue of antisemitism and hate crimes in the community. The swift response from law enforcement and the condemnation from city and state leaders demonstrate a commitment to addressing these issues and ensuring that such acts are not tolerated.<\/p>\n<h2>FAQs<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Q: What happened at the Brooklyn playground?<br \/>\nA: Dozens of swastikas and other antisemitic language were spray-painted at a Brooklyn playground.<\/li>\n<li>Q: Where did the incident occur?<br \/>\nA: The incident occurred at Gravesend Park in Borough Park, Brooklyn.<\/li>\n<li>Q: How many suspects were arrested?<br \/>\nA: Two 15-year-old boys were arrested in connection with the incidents.<\/li>\n<li>Q: What charges do the suspects face?<br \/>\nA: One suspect was charged with aggravated harassment and criminal mischief as a hate crime, while the other faces multiple counts of aggravated harassment.<\/li>\n<li>Q: How have authorities responded to the incident?<br \/>\nA: Authorities have condemned the act, launched a hate crime investigation, and arrested suspects in connection with the vandalism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction to the Incident Two teens were arrested and charged after allegedly spray painting dozens of swastikas and other antisemitic language at a Brooklyn playground where many Jewish children play, according to police. A hate crime investigation was launched after nearly five dozen of the hate symbols were found painted on walls, a court and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":28103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-28101","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-reports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.nbcnewyork.com\/2026\/01\/image-9-9.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=1500,846&w=1500&resize=1500,845&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28101"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28101"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28104,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28101\/revisions\/28104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}