[UPDATE] 'Lynching Rope' Chalk Graffiti Raises Alarm At Brooklyn Subway Station
March 6, 2019, 1:55 p.m.
'My reaction was disgust, anger, frustration and discomfort.'
<a href="https://twitter.com/DebonairPierre/status/1103310017338445835" target="_blank" rel="noopener">via Pierre-Antoine Louis</a>
[This story has been updated with additional information and a statement from the MTA, below.]
A straphanger spotted a disturbing chalk drawing of a noose at a subway station in Brooklyn this morning.
Pierre-Antoine Louis, who tweeted the images out this morning, said his partner first spotted it toward the end of the platform on the uptown F/G side of the Ft. Hamilton subway station in Windsor Terrace/Kensington area last night. He wrote in the tweet, "Hey @mta you mind explaining why there’s a chalk image of a lynching rope (noose) at the Ft. Hamilton train station in Kensington, Brooklyn?"
"We literally moved into this neighborhood a week ago," Louis told Gothamist. "[My partner] brought it to my attention and he was horrified. My reaction was disgust, anger, frustration and discomfort. My partner and I were already feeling a bit uncomfortable realizing that we haven't seen many people of color in the Kensington area thus far and seeing this certainly didn't help that feeling."
Hey @mta you mind explaining why there’s a chalk image of a lynching rope (noose) at the Ft. Hamilton train station in Kensington, Brooklyn? pic.twitter.com/IPfmFHeEvm
— Pierre-Antoine Louis (@DebonairPierre) March 6, 2019
The MTA has been alerted to the image, and has "let the Group Station Manager know." At 12:56 p.m., the MTA said the graffiti had been painted over.
Update: After NYPD completed its investigation, we painted over the image. Take care. ^JLP pic.twitter.com/TjasuNFUUA
— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) March 6, 2019
“We have zero tolerance for displays of racism, violence or hatred and are committed to maintaining a safe, respectful environment for our customers and employees," MTA spokesman Shams Tarek said in a statement. "As soon as we learned of this, we notified NYPD which collected evidence for investigation and we have painted over this image.”
Hate crimes and hateful imagery like this have been on the rise around NYC in the last two years.
One of my colleagues discovered this at a @NYCTSubway station near my neighborhood today. What the actual hell is going on? Not OK, not at all, not ever. https://t.co/JVLjUoyetd
— Rob Liguori (@robxlii) March 6, 2019
Imagine... on your way to work at an intentionally diverse school... to teach about historical inequities and seeing this... #mylife #exhausted https://t.co/ucFr4ciBK5
— Jehan (@jehanmadeit) March 6, 2019
A spokesperson for Gov. Cuomo told Gothamist, "This symbol of hate offends every New Yorker and we will not stand by and allow anyone to threaten, intimidate, or discriminate. New York State Police Hate Crimes Task Force has been directed to provide the NYPD with their full assistance throughout the investigation."
