WILLIAMSBURG — A swastika found in an elevator in a Clymer Street building early Tuesday was being investigated as a hate crime, the NYPD said.
Civilian volunteer patrollers discovered the swastika about 4 a.m. in one of the elevators inside the Taylor Wythe Houses at 70 Clymer St., near Wythe Avenue, officials said.
"Some people in the building later told us that they saw the swastika since 11:00 p.m. last night," said Danny, 23, one of the patrollers who declined to give his last name. "I don't know how it could happen."
The swastika was accompanied by a message — “We want cameras!" — though it was unclear if the two are related.
Police are investigating the scrawling as a possible hate crime, a police spokesman added.
Rachel, a 45-year-old mother of five who lives in the building, said the hateful mark terrified her 14-year-old son this morning.
"He was so pale and devastated. It's the first time he saw such a scene,” she said. “It must be traumatizing for him.”
The discovery of the swastika is the latest such incident to occur in a Jewish neighborhood in the last year. Vandals spray-painted numerous swastikas on several buildings, including a synagogue in Borough Park.
Days later, another vandal scrawled “F--- Jews” in large white letters on the facade of a Williamsburg synagogue.
