The New York Democratic delegation issued a statement on Oct. 8 in support of Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), condemning vandalism carried out earlier that day on Espaillat’s Hudson Heights constituency office in Northern Manhattan. 

 

Espaillat represents parts of the West Bronx and Northern Manhattan, and has two constituency offices in Manhattan, including one in Harlem and one in Hudson Heights / Little Dominican Republic, one in The Bronx, and one in Washington D.C. 

POLICE ARE LOOKING for the public’s help identifying the person seen in this video, who, on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, at around 3 a.m., in front of 720 West 181st Street, in the Little Dominican Republic (Hudson Heights) quarter of Northern Manhattan, vandalized the constituency office of Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) who represents parts of the West Bronx and Northern Manhattan. Video courtesy of the NYPD

The NYPD said on Friday, Oct. 11, that they were asking for the public’s help identifying and locating the people seen in the attached video and photos who they say are sought in connection with what was categorized as a hate crime / criminal mischief carried out at the congressman’s Hudson Heights office.

 

Police said that on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at around 3 a.m., in front of 720 West 181st Street, in the Little Dominican Republic (Hudson Heights) quarter of Northern Manhattan, two unidentified individuals spray-painted the front gate of the location and also used a hammer to damage the front glass of the office.

They said the two then fled on foot, traveling eastbound on 181st Street. “No injuries were reported as a result of this incident,” a police spokesperson said. “The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating.”

 

We asked the NYPD if the department could provide further details on the nature of the incident including what exactly was spray-painted onto the congressman’s office. The video shows the office front painted over in red paint (usually done to depict blood). Oct. 7 marked the one-year anniversary since the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. As reported, police were seen stationed outside the Van Cortlandt Jewish Center in Van Cortlandt Village in The Bronx in the lead up to the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.

Amid a decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict over territory and human rights, the Hamas attacks prompted what many regard as a disproportionate military response in Gaza by the Israeli government. NPR reported on Oct. 12 that more than 1,200 Israelis were killed in the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, while 100 Israelis remain hostages of Hamas. NPR also reported that Israel’s military bombing campaign in Gaza since then has killed 42,000 Palestinians.

 

Espaillat is not the only congressional member to feel the heat for facilitating financial support by the U.S. of Israel’s military response in Gaza. As reported, the Bronx constituency office of Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) has been the site of at least two (peaceful) protests to date, since Oct. 7, 2023, and protestors have also called out progressive Bronx Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex (NY-14) for not doing more to call for a ceasefire in the area, and even though she already has on more than one occasion and early in the war.

As also reported by News 12 The Bronx, in a joint statement condemning the incident issued on Oct. 8 by the NY Democratic delegation, and shared by Manhattan Congressman Jerry Nadler, the delegation recognized each person’s right to free speech, but added, “When protests become violent, with actions that cross the line into acts of vandalism, they are no longer protests; they become crimes. These acts of intimidation are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

 

The group also said that it was not the first time Espaillat’s offices had been targeted. The full statement is attached above. Norwood News has asked both the congressman and the NYPD for the details of other incidents when the congressman’s offices were vandalized, and will share any updates we receive. We’ve also asked the congressman for comment on the latest incident.

A visit to Epaillat’s Hudson Heights office in Northern Manhattan in the early hours of Sunday, Oct. 13, showed a shuttered office front with splattered red paint still visible on the walls in the area over the metal, pulldown shutter. Behind the metal shutter, fliers appealing to the public for help locating certain Jewish hostages kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 in Southern Israel, were seen affixed to the front window of the office.

 

An occupied NYPD patrol unit was also seen parked a few doors down from the office. Norwood News spoke to one employee, who was possibly Middle Eastern, at a deli opposite Espaillat’s office and asked if he had seen the vandalism take place. He said he had not, adding nonetheless, “About four days ago, I seen some people supporting Palestine with I don’t know the name?” We asked if he meant flags and he said he did. “Yeah, everybody with the flags,” he said.

 

The employee went on to say that the protestors continued protesting at the office from sometime in the afternoon on the day in question until after 8 p.m. that night, and then left.

He said when he woke up the next day, people were already cleaning off the paint from the office front and he didn’t know what words, if any, had been painted on it as most of it had been removed. Asked if it was the first time he had seen the congressman’s office vandalized, the employee said, “This is the first month for me in this area, you know? I don’t know what’s going on.”

 

Meanwhile, local City Councilman Oswald Feliz (C.D. 15) also reacted to the vandalism of Espaillat’s office, sharing a photo of the paint splattered property on X and writing, “I’ll always join those calling for peace. Harassment, vandalism, & disrupting constituent services in marginalized communities, does *nothing* to help achieve that. I know @RepEspaillat very well. He will not be intimidated by this type of harassment.” 

 

Feliz represents some Bronx neighborhoods located close to those represented by Espaillat in the West Bronx. The councilman received strong early backing from Espaillat when he first ran for office in 2021.

On the subject of crime, earlier on Oct. 8, Feliz had taken a swipe at NYC Mayor Eric Adams, who had posted a tweet in which he celebrated a further drop in overall crime in New York City in October, writing, “We did it again: for the NINTH-STRAIGHT month, crime has decreased in our city. The data makes several things clear: violent crime is down on our streets and in our subways, our public safety initiatives are working, and NYC is STILL America’s SAFEST big city.”

 

In response, Feliz shared a screenshot of overall crime statistics for The Bronx for a similar period and responded, “Crime, including shootings, are up in some boroughs. We should celebrate only after all, incl. our most disadvantaged communities, make progress on this issue. @NYCMayor.”

 

As reported, on Sept. 27, Adams pleaded not guilty to federal bribery charges in the context of an investigation into his campaign finances during his 2021 mayoral election campaign, and moved, unsuccessfully, to dismiss the charges. On Oct. 1, the mayor also sought to impose sanctions on the federal prosecutors who charged him with bribery, alleging they leaked grand jury material and other sensitive information in “brazen violations” of the rules.

Meanwhile, the NY Daily News has reported that the mayor’s latest elected interim police commissioner, Tom Donlon, who, as reported, grew up in Norwood, is the latest top Adams adminstration official tipped to step down in the coming days following a recent raid by federal agents on his home (which Donlon later said was unrelated to his work with the NYPD). The interim police commissioner, who was only appointed to the position on Sept. 12, said documents that had come into his possession around 20 years ago were removed during the search.

 

As reported, Donlon served as New York’s director of the Office of Homeland Security, ran the FBI National Threat Center and the FBI NYPD Joint Terrorist Task Force, worked as the cold case agent investigating the 1993 Twin Towers bombing, as well as the attacks on both the U.S. embassy in Africa and on the USS Cole (ship) in Yemen by al-Qaeda. When questioned about the raid on Donlon’s homes during a press conference on Sept. 24, the mayor referred to the case as “a private matter.”

A slew of top Adams administration officials have recently stepped down or resigned amid the federal investigation revelations and many others, including local State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33) and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), have called for the mayor to follow suit. So far, Adams has remained defiant. Meanwhile, The NY Daily News recently reported that NYC Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch is tipped to take over the police commissioner role.

 

If so, Tisch would become only the second female police commissioner in the department’s history, after former Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, who, as reported, resigned in June 2023 after just a year and a half in the job. Sewell was also the first Black woman and the third Black person to serve as police commissioner. Caban was the first Hispanic police commissioner. Sewell, a Queens native, is currently serving as New York Mets senior vice president of security and guest experience.

 

Meanwhile, Hellgate’s Christopher Robbins reported that Tisch wouldn’t be the pick of Queens State Sen Jessica Ramos (S.D. 13) for the role. Ramos reportedly said she doesn’t believe Tisch’s appointment would be good for NYPD morale, and said there are reportedly enough talented, reform-minded police employees who could do the job.

 

On the topic of police reform, Sewell’s prior resignation, according to a story by The NY Post, followed alleged clashes with City Hall over her decision to side with the Civilian Complaints Review Board (CCRB) to discipline NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, the department’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, for having abused his authority in a 2021 gun case, while City Hall senior officials “wanted him to get a pass,” according to the Posts’ sources.

 

“She was probably [only] the fourth-most powerful person in the police department behind [Deputy Mayor Phillip] Banks, Maddrey and [mayoral aide Timothy] Pearson,” a law enforcement source reportedly told the Post at the time of Sewell’s resignation.

 

Since then, as reported, Pearson, among a growing list of other top Adams administration officials resigned from office on Sept. 30. Politico reported his resignation came weeks after federal agents seized his cell phone as part of the mushrooming investigation into the mayor’s inner circle.

As also reported, at the time of former Police Commissioner Edward Caban’s abrupt resignation last month following a Sept. 4th raid on his home, Philip Banks’ home was also raided, as were those of other top Adams’ administration officials. Banks also later resigned on Monday, Oct. 7, as reported by Gothamist. If appointed, Tisch would become the fourth police commissioner to serve under the Adams’ administration.

 

Adams defended himself and his record during a recent visit to The Bronx. He, Banks, Caban, Pearson, and the federal prosecutors the mayor has sought to bring sanctions against, are presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

 

Anyone with information regarding this vandalism incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.

 

All calls are strictly confidential.