XPost: la.general, talk.politics.mideast, alt.journalism.newspapers
XPost: atl.general

The building that houses the offices of a New York state senator
and an assemblywoman who have been vocal opponents of President
Trump was vandalized with graffiti reading “Obama faggot” on
Monday morning.

The graffiti was found in two different places on the outside of
the building at 31-19 Newtown Ave., in Astoria, Queens, which
houses the offices of State Sen. Michael Gianaris and
Assemblywoman Arevella Simotas of Queens.

Gianaris issued a statement after the incident, saying: “It is
shameful that someone is trying to divide our diverse
neighborhood through hostility and bigotry. We can assure our
community that these hateful actions will not silence our
opposition towards policies we consider un-American, and we will
continue to fight for those who need our help no matter the
cost.”

But according to QNS.com, this is the second time the same words
have been written on the building in the past week, with
Councilman Costa Constantinides filing a report after the first
incident.

Gianaris’ spokeswoman tells Metro Weekly that the office is
working closely with the New York Police Department’s 114th
Precinct in the hope of finding the perpetrator.

Police with the 114th Precinct have documented both incidents
and are reviewing security footage in order to try to identify
the vandal.

“Writing hateful graffiti is a cowardly, criminal act that
pollutes our neighborhood and makes people feel less safe,”
Simotas said. “I am confident that the 114th Precinct will catch
the perpetrator or perpetrators, whatever their sick motivation
may be. These acts of hate will neither silence nor stop
Astoria’s elected officials from working to fight discrimination
and intolerance and to protect the beautiful diversity of our
neighborhood.”

Both Gianaris and Simotas have been vocal in their opposition to
President Trump’s policies, particularly with respect to
immigration. Along with Constantinides, the two lawmakers held a
rally to celebrate Astoria’s diversity shortly after Trump’s
election.

Gianaris has proposed legislation that would prohibit the Port
Authority from utilizing any of its resources to enforce Trump’s
initial travel ban, which has since been revised after receiving
backlash and being struck down by the courts. He has also
proposed adding immigration status to the list of classes of
people who should be protected under New York’s civil rights
laws. Simotas has introduced a bill this session to prevent the
intimidation of crime victims or witnesses who are undocumented
by making it a felony to report their immigration status. The
aim of that bill is to encourage undocumented people to
cooperate with police by providing information that could be
pertinent to any unsolved crimes.

https://www.metroweekly.com/2017/03/new-york-lawmakers-offices- vandalized-obama-faggot-graffiti/
 

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