Police Make Arrest In African Burial Ground Vandalism
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Police say the man accused of scrawling a racial slur on the African Burial Ground National Monument in Manhattan has been arrested.
Ivan Nieves, 57, of the Bronx, was charged with vandalism and disorderly conduct.
The hateful graffiti was discovered on November 1.
"This shocking and hateful act cannot diminish the spirit of African Burial Ground National Monument, nor silence the story it tells," National Parks Service Manhattan Sites Superintendent Shirley McKinney said at the time. "The National Park Service takes acts such as this very seriously."
The NYPD says overall crime is down across the city, but the number of bias attacks is on the rise.
"Seeing hate crimes toward the African community, toward the Jewish community, toward the Muslim community, toward the LGBT ... it all has to stop," Mayor Bill de Blasio said earlier this month. "One of the most powerful tools to insure that people understand that hate crimes are unacceptable is when they see there are real, tangible consequences."
