Riverdale has rallied to show its abhorrence for repugnant, racially charged vandalism — even as the victim said he has become exasperated by the ongoing police investigation into the incident earlier this month.
“Everybody’s asking me the same questions; I stopped answering my phone,” said Menuhin Hart, who sparked the powerful community response after he found a bigoted message spray-painted across his parked SUV on April 4.
Hart said he was tired of the repeated questioning he has had to endure by detectives in the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force, whose investigation remains open.
“I was basically just getting frustrated,” the 54-year-old said. “I’m trying to move on.”
His neighbors in Riverdale did everythng they could to convey their revulsion. They hurried to raise money to help Hart repair his defaced Dodge Ram.
“I felt good about how the community supported me and to see the unity,” said Hart, adding that he was moved by the outpouring of support that followed the incident — which included a vigil attended by residents, clergy and a bevy of elected officials. “People from all over came.”
Hart, who lives in the elegant Whitehall building on Henry Hudson Parkway, said he parked his car the night of April 3 on nearby Independence Ave., across from the Spuytin Duyvil playground. The next morning, he found the vehicle tagged with a racist message, “U Shood Move,” scrawled across the driver side panels.
It wasn’t Hart’s first encounter with such behavior; in September, he found the words “black n—–” scratched into his truck with a key.
His neighbors in the well-known residence expressed their outrage at the incident. The Whitehall has a longstanding reputation for color-blind affluence. Baseball great Willie Mays owns an apartment there and Horace Bullard, a real estate magnate who was black, served on the building’s board until shortly before his death last year.
“I was appalled,” said Judith Sonett, who lives below Mays’ penthouse. “In 30 years of being at this building, I have never seen a crime that is racially biased. The building is very diverse. We have African-American judges, athletes and poliicians here.”
Hart, however, said he is accustomed to such treatment.
“Being black, you get used to it,” said Hart. “I’m 54 years old. We all go through it one way in the other, but it’s all about how you handle it.”
His neighbors in the community clamored to demonstrate their outrage.
Riverdalians Shila Billet and Emily Shapiro raised more than $ 1,000 of their $ 5,000 goal within 48 hours of beginning their online fundraiser, on April 7. The petition, posted on indiegogo.com under the title, “Toward a Welcoming and Racially Diverse Riverdale,” had generated $ 2,298 as of Wednesday.
The petition ends April 30. All contributions will go to Hart for car repairs.
Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said he saw a silver lining in the way the folks banded together to protest the hateful incident.
“The Riverdale community and the entire Bronx stand united — as ‘One Bronx against hate,’ ” the beep said. “Though these are unfortunate circumstances, the true spirit of a united Bronx shines through in our response.”
With Thomas Tracy and Bruce Diamond
Yahoo Local News – New York Daily News
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