Manhattan Crossing Guard Investigated After Allegedly Abusing Rabbi, Child With Antisemitic Slurs
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by Benjamin Kerstein
A nearly-deserted 7th Avenue in Times Square is seen near midday in Manhattan during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, New York, April 7, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Mike Segar.
A New York City crossing guard has been removed from her post and is under investigation for allegedly verbally abusing a rabbi and her child with antisemitic slurs.
Rabbi Erica Gerson was crossing 79th Street and Amsterdam Ave in January when the harassment took place, local ABC affiliate WABC reported.
“It was pick-up time and I was crossing as [I] always do with my nine-year-old,” Gerson recounted. “I overheard [the crossing guard] describing one group of kids as ‘those Jewish kids,’ and I thought that was strange.”
“She called us ‘nasty people, now we know why there’s no peace in the Middle East,’ and along with that she cursed a Kosher establishment,” Gerson said.
“We stood there and looked at her and said, ‘I see you looking at me, let’s see you put a hand on me,’ the whole thing was totally surreal,” she added.
After Gerson filed a police report, the NYPD released a statement saying, “Anyone who has taken an oath to serve in the NYPD is expected to act as a role model for our children and families. The NYPD does not tolerate discrimination in any form, particularly if it is rooted in hate speech or a bias against individuals.”
Gerson said the police had been “incredibly supportive.”
In comments to the New York Post, she recalled often seeing the guard “getting coffee, and she’s always on her phone. She didn’t do her job. She would stay underneath the scaffolding. She’d sit on the benches and eat.”
“There’s so many schools in the area,” she added. “There’s a genuine traffic risk at that intersection.”
A spokesperson for New York police, Sgt. Edward Riley, told the Post that “While the matter in question has remained under active internal investigation since the moment the Department was made aware of the allegations, the crossing guard in question was moved from that post pending the outcome of the investigation.”
