Swastika found on LIRR

Swift action taken to remove it

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of Dec. 26, 2008 / 29 Kislev 5769

A swastika was discovered on the LIRR’s 8:54 from Far Rockaway on Wednesday morning.

The offensive symbol was scrawled in black a half-foot high on an inside wall of the car.

A passenger who got on at the Lawrence station alerted crew members who immediately notified their superiors of the graffiti.

The Flatbush Avenue-bound train was allowed to finish its run before being taken out of service and sent to the LIRR maintenance facility at Hillside Avenue at about 10:30 that same morning, where the swastika was cleaned off. The train was back in service the following day.

“With graffiti of this nature, we obviously work very quickly to remove it, as opposed to something else that might not be as offensive,” said LIRR spokesman Salvatore Arena. “It was taken out of service as soon as it finished its run and was cleaned as quickly as possible.”

Arena assured The Jewish Star that this was an isolated incident, and he couldn’t recall any similar defacements being reported in the last few months. He also noted that the MTA police have no record of the incident and, since no witnesses have stepped forward, no further investigation is being conducted.