Bay Ridge

Cops hunt Bay Ridge Menorah vandals

December 15, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
The vandalized Menorah was replaced by the members of Chabad of Bay Ridge. Eagle photo by Paula Katinas
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Heartless vandals deliberately destroyed a Hanukkah Menorah that a religious organization had placed outside a Bay Ridge park, but the victims showed that they weren’t about to let crooks ruin their holiday. They quickly replaced the Menorah with another one.

Police are looking for the vandals who broke an eight-foot-wide Menorah that members of Chabad of Bay Ridge erected on the corner of Seventh Avenue and 65th Street outside Leif Erickson Park. The vandalism was discovered during the early morning hours of Dec. 10, according to a New York Police Department spokesman. The crime took place at some point between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Dec. 10, the spokesman said.

“Upon arrival, officers discovered that an unidentified perpetrator had sometime between the hours of 0200 and 0600, intentionally damaged a Menorah that had been placed at the location. The Menorah was knocked down and broken apart,” the NYPD spokesman told the Brooklyn Eagle via email.

The Menorah had been affixed with lanterns containing LED lights. Each night during Hanukkah, a member of the group had visited the site to place another lantern on the Menorah. The vandals apparently weren’t satisfied with destroying the Menorah. They also stole a “Happy Hanukkah” sign that Chabad of Bay Ridge had attached to the Menorah, police said.

“There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing,” the NYPD spokesman said.

Members of Chabad of Bay Ridge didn’t take the crime lying down.

“We put up another Menorah,” one member said.

Chabad of Bay Ridge is headquartered at 373 Bay Ridge Ave. The Chabad member said the group was pleased with the response of the 68th Police Precinct.

“The 68th Precinct is working very hard to find out who did this,” he told the Eagle. Chabad of Bay Ridge also lit a Menorah at another spot in the neighborhood – Fourth Avenue and 95th Street – on Dec. 13. Hanukkah, which began on the evening of Dec. 6, ended on Dec. 14.

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