Residents in South Buffalo are upset after a basketball court was vandalized and spray-painted with racist symbols.
- Neighbors find a swastika and the letters 'KKK' spray-painted onto the court
- Neighbor says vandalism isn't a new problem
- Councilman says he's working to address it
Neighbors found a swastika and ‘KKK’ spray-painted on the court at Durant Park.
However, one neighbor said vandalism isn’t a new problem in the neighborhood.
Ida Murray’s house faces the park and she said vandals have been ripping the wood off her garage and taking wood from the fences of other houses as well.
“Every time I come back there is a new piece pulled off,” Murray said.
It’s problem that’s been going on for the last five months. Murray’s been in contact with Councilman Rich Fontana, who came out to survey the damage on Friday afternoon.
“I don’t understand why people in 2019 do these things,” Fontana said. “They see it online and think it looks cool.”
Fontana said he hasn’t received calls about too many incidents like this and police reports only show one act of vandalism with spray-paint in recent months in this area, but Fontana is working to address it.
“It’s been quieter,” he said. “I haven’t had as many calls about it, but now we’ll hit it with a whack-a-mole, keep hitting it as problems pop-up.”
As police are looking into this incident, Murray for now feels a little helpless.
“We don’t know what’s going on or why it’s happening or what we should do,” she said.
Fontana encourages anyone who sees anything to report it to police.