A $5,000 personal reward was offered by New York City Mayor Eric Adams to anybody who would help arrest the vandals who damaged a monument and a war memorial during Monday night’s pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Manhattan.
The General William Tecumseh Sherman statue at the southeast corner of Central Park was defaced by three people at approximately 8 p.m. on Monday amid protests around the MET Gala, according to the NYPD. Authorities also discovered graffiti at another World War I military memorial in Central Park on the Upper East Side.
The crowd switched its attention to the 107th Infantry Memorial and another Civil War-era monument in the park after police had cut it off before it could enter the neighboring Metropolitan Museum of Art and disturb the star-studded Met Gala being hosted there.
Hizzoner’s $5,000 will be combined with $10,000 from NYPD Crime Stoppers for a total of $15,000 in reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the vandalism, which included the burning of an American flag.
“In spite of the unpopular notion that people don’t want to say it. I want to say it. I love America,” Adams stated on Tuesday afternoon during a press conference.
“We will not tolerate chaos and disorder,” he added, “Even if those who are creating it claim to be doing so in the name of peace, we want you to bring your anger and passion to the protest, but don’t bring your hate. Don’t bring your violence and don’t bring your disorder.”
The mayor claimed that although most of the graffiti was promptly cleaned by the Parks Department, some persisted due to the porous nature of the statue.
“This is a top priority for us to solve this crime. … There’s a few social media leads we have, and we’re going to continue to focus on that. We’re asking whoever witnessed anything to please let the New York City Police Department know”, the mayor said.
