Arrest Made in Hate Crime Graffiti Vandalism Spree Targeting Shuls Last Shabbos

By Hamodia Staff

The New York Police Department announced on Thursday morning that a suspect wanted for a series of hate crime graffiti incidents targeting synagogues on the Upper East Side has been apprehended and charged. Lenny De La Rosa, 21, was taken into custody on Wednesday at the intersection of E. 120th St. and Fifth Ave. in Harlem. Law enforcement officers recognized him from surveillance footage that captured him using a black magic marker to deface Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on Shabbos afternoon, sparking a string of similar incidents.

The initial incident occurred around 7 p.m. on Shabbos afternoon when De La Rosa allegedly scrawled antisemitic graffiti on a display screen attached to Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on E. 85th St. near Lexington Ave. Subsequent investigations connected him to a series of additional hate crime incidents involving graffiti.

On the same afternoon, at 3:43 p.m., De La Rosa is accused of writing “Dead Riip” at a Jewish center on E. 79th St. near Second Ave. Just minutes later, at 4:09 p.m., he allegedly wrote “Dead Rip” on the side of a Hatzolah ambulance parked near E. 85th St. and Lexington Ave. At 4:11 p.m., he is believed to have written “Dead BP” at Congregation Or Zarua on E. 82nd St. near Lexington Ave.

Later that day, around 5:22 p.m., De La Rosa drew a heart with a pulse line on a utility pole at Mercer and Spring Sts. in Soho. He was promptly arrested for making graffiti, issued a desk appearance ticket, and released.

De La Rosa now faces criminal mischief charges as a hate crime, as well as charges related to making graffiti in connection with these incidents. At the time of his earlier arrest on the graffiti charge, the hate crime nature of the incidents had not yet been fully uncovered.

The swift action taken by law enforcement highlights the commitment to addressing hate crimes and protecting places of worship.