Hateful graffiti targeting Jewish businesses found on two Scarsdale storefronts

Hateful graffiti apparently targeted at Jewish-owned businesses was found on two storefront windows at a Scarsdale shopping center Thursday morning.

New Rochelle police said the words "genocide supporter" were written in black spray-paint on the windows of Cheryl's Closet, a women's clothing boutique, and Scoop Shop, an ice cream store, at the Golden Horseshoe Shopping Center on Wilmot Road at the border of Scarsdale and New Rochelle.

State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale, called the graffiti on two Jewish-owned businesses a "hateful act of antisemitism" that is "reprehensible and will not be tolerated."

Myra Clark-Siegel, regional director of the American Jewish Committee's Westchester-Fairfield office and a resident of Scarsdale, said the Golden Horseshoe Shopping Center is frequently used by the significant Jewish community in the area. It is the home of Seasons, a popular Kosher supermarket, and is across the street from the Jewish Community Center of Mid-Westchester.

"We found out about the incident this morning through some community social media posts," Clark-Siegel said. "It's Thursday, which means that people are going to the shopping center since Friday is Shabbat."

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Agnes Baione, an employee at Cheryl's Closet, said she was overwhelmed by the support the community had given the store on Thursday.

"It's just amazing to see," she said. "Everyone has been in here today extending their sympathies. We even had the mayor come in."

Adam Deutsch has run Scoop Shop at the Golden Horseshoe Shopping Center since 2018. Deutsch, who is Jewish, said he was shaken by the morning incident, but said the support of the community has left him hopeful.

"I'm still a little bit shocked," Deutsch said, "but the amount of support we've been getting is unbelievable."

He said threats were never made to his store before this incident. He remains full of resolve with the backing of his community.

"We're not going anywhere," Deutsch said. "We still support who we support and we're proud. A little graffiti is not going to do anything."

Clark-Siegel said a local synagogue and other community leaders are holding a meet-up at the center at 4 p.m. Thursday to address the incident and the growing number of antisemitic incidents in the area.

"This ugly act of antisemitism has no place in Westchester or anywhere else, and targeting a large Jewish population is a vile form of hatred," Clark-Siegel said. "We must all take a zero tolerance approach to fight its spread."

New Rochelle police said a suspect has not yet been found and the incident is still under investigation.

Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah and New Rochelle Police Commissioner Robert Gazzola issued a joint statement, insisting there is zero tolerance for hate in Westchester.

"We understand the unsettling atmosphere of fear across all impacted communities and the safety of our residents and businesses remains a top priority for law enforcement," their statement read. "We have zero tolerance for hatred and bias in Westchester and we will use the full force of the law to hold perpetrators accountable and keep our communities safe."

Paulin called the act a threat to Jews everywhere.

"If history is any kind of guide, this will not end here," she said. "The Nazis did not stop with the Jews, they also persecuted persons with disabilities, those they considered racially different from themselves, homosexuals, Jehovah Witnesses, and many others. Racists know no boundaries. In short, they seek to destroy the diversity that makes communities like ours great."

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said "These despicable acts not only affect the Jewish community, but all of us. We must all speak out when we see incidents of antisemitism, and hatred of any group, for remaining silent gives tacit approval."

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Scarsdale NY: Hateful graffiti found on storefronts at shopping center