The person — or people — who have destroyed mailboxes and torn down pride flags along Dusinberre Road in the Town of Gardiner should know their offenses rise to the level of hate crimes, neighbors and town officials said on Wednesday.

The Gardiner Town Board is most likely going to pass a resolution containing strong language condemning the recent acts of vandalism and advises the general public the crimes are "an attack upon the very foundations of American Society."

"It was stunning," said Samuel Cristler, a victim of some recent vandalism who spoke with Spectrum News in his backyard on Wednesday morning. "It was spectacular."

The resolution, titled "Condemnation of Hate Crimes," came about because of a series of incidents during and after Pride Month in June.

Several mailboxes and pride flags were damaged. Mailboxes without pride flags displayed on them seemed to had been left untouched, neighbors said.

The resolution, first drafted by Councilman David Dukler, makes the case the crimes are worse than random vandalism and should not be shrugged off by the community as acts of mischief.

Cristler said he is glad the resolution backs up his and his neighbors' views of the crimes.

"Whoever is doing this is violating the law," Cristler said. "This is private property, it's vandalism, and locals are characterizing it as a hate crime."

Regardless of their own sexual orientation, several neighbors agreed.

"It's definitely a hate crime," said neighbor Bob Geller. "I'm a former teacher, it's a hate crime. I always taught, 'to each his own,' and honor everybody's privilege of being what they want to be."

"It does seem to be it's the mailboxes with the flags that are being targeted," said Shawna Liucci, Cristler's neighbor from across the street, "so that would kind of send a signal of what they're trying to say."

The resolution also mentions hate speech, putting them in the same category as hateful acts. Cristler said he has experience hate speech too.

"They stopped out front," Cristler said of the unwelcome visitors. "Someone in that passenger seat yelled so loudly, 'F---ing f----ot,'  that I could hear it inside of my house with the windows shut."

He did not let it bother him.

"I've had much better insults from [more] intelligent people," Cristler said.

But he is glad the town board is not laughing off any of these incidents. The original vote of support was unanimous, but board members need to tweak the language before officially passing the resolution, Town Supervisor Marybeth Majestic said Wednesday afternoon.

The board is scheduled to vote on the final version at its meeting on October 8.