GREENWOOD HEIGHTS — Vandals struck historic Green-Wood Cemetery this week, wrecking more than 40 grave markers and causing more than $100,000 in damage.
The desecration shattered three marble crosses, cracked urns, toppled monuments and in one case broke the head off a statue of an angel, according to a blog post by the cemetery's historian Jeff Richman.
"I have been visiting Green-Wood since 1986, and, while I recall some incidents of vandalism, I cannot remember anything on this scale or close to it," Richman wrote.
Cemetery workers discovered the defacement on Aug. 21 and are now working with the NYPD's Hate Crimes unit to investigate the incident. A security camera at the cemetery recorded at least one person believed to be involved in the crime.
Cemetery officials pledged to repair the damage, and they're asking for donations to help cover the costs.
The 478-acre cemetery is a final resting place for many prominent Americans, including 1980s painter Jean-Michel Basquiat and conductor Leonard Bernstein.
