Swastikas and phallic symbols, crudely drawn in colored chalk, could be seen along public walkways in Ocean Beach late afternoon on August 25.
“Really? Is this who we are… is this what we have become?” wrote former Ocean Beach Village Trustee Christopher Norris on the private Facebook group known as the Ocean Beach Bulletin Board. “Is this what we will tolerate? …This is a hate crime, as far as I can tell, and we need to stand up to this crap. There can be no tolerance for this in our village.”
That post would prompt a response from Ocean Beach Village Hall as well as a police investigation.
“The Village of Ocean Beach is aware of hateful and offensive symbols, including swastikas, that were recently chalked on public sidewalks within the Village… Acts intended to intimidate, offend, or spread hate are unacceptable and do not reflect the values of our residents,” a public notice published the following day on the Ocean Beach Village website reads. “The Village would also like to clarify the circumstances surrounding the report. No official report of the incident was made to the Village or the Police Department. Village officials first became aware of the alleged markings through social media. Once made aware, the Police Department responded to investigate; however, by the time officers arrived, the chalk markings had already been removed. Please be assured the Police are actively investigating this incident.”
In a telephone interview with Fire Island News, Ocean Beach Police Department (OBPD) Chief George Hesse confirmed that individuals’ failure to use proper channels to file a complaint delayed the investigation by several hours and compromised the evidence his department could gather.
“Most of the symbols had faded by foot traffic or were washed away by the time we could get there,” said Hesse. “We suspect children may have committed this act. There was a scavenger hunt held by the day camp that day, and colored chalk could be found all along the walkways… The symbols were mostly drawn on Cottage and Dehnhoff Walks. We reviewed the surveillance footage in the area but found nothing conclusive so far. It was an ignorant thing to do.”
Nearly six years ago, to the day, a group of young men scrawled racial epithets in front of the house of a senior Black couple who have lived in Ocean Beach since 1971—civil rights attorney Johnny Parham and his wife, Anne—an incident that ultimately made national headlines.
“Those were adults, and that one still bothers me,” said Hesse. “We never did catch those guys.”
Anyone with information about these incidents is encouraged to contact the Ocean Beach Village Police at 631-583-5866. All calls will remain confidential.
