White Supremacist Stickers Litter North Brooklyn
Texas-based Patriot Front grew out of 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Dozens of stickers advertising
the far-right
hate group Patriot
Front have popped up
in Greenpoint and Williamsburg
in recent weeks, worrying locals
about the spread of white supremacist
propaganda in the area.
“Who wants to leave their house
and see white power shit,” said one
Greenpoint woman, who wanted to
stay anonymous for fear of retribution
from the organization. “We
have a lot going on here, and this is
how you’re spending your time?”
Patriot Front originated in Texas
as an off-shoot of the neo-Nazi
group Vanguard America in the
aftermath of the deadly “Unite
the Right” rally in Charlottesville,
Virginia, in 2017, according to the
Southern Poverty Law Center.
Now, the stickers have cropped
up in northwestern parts of Greenpoint
on street corners, lamp posts,
benches, mailboxes, and on the
Pulaski Bridge.
The hate group’s Twitter page
even publicized some of the stickers
in Brooklyn in areas that appear
to be Kent Avenue in Williamsburg
and West Street in Greenpoint on
April 25, along with various other
locations around the country.
The recent spate of hate follows
a series of other instances where
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emergency room now stopping the
bleeding.”
In an example of the ongoing
transitions happening, Bullock
said her outreach and education
team is gearing up several virtual
trainings provided to other organizations
seeking guidance on cultural
awareness which they would
typically offer in an in-person setting.
Her organization’s HIV testing
team, which is still taking signups
online, is also fi nding ways to
continue serving folks by offering
at-home testing.
Yet another example illustrates
how the ongoing effort to adapt to
Stickers from the white supremacist group Patriot Front have begun popping up in northern Brooklyn.
the group’s message was spread
around the borough — including
when locals held an anti-hate rally
after Patriot Front members hung a
spiteful banner over the Belt Parkway,
and when the group’s signage
began to litter liberal Park Slope.
And while it remains unclear
how many people are actively
spreading the Patriot Front paraphernalia
in Brooklyn, the bigoted
messages have instilled fear in residents,
according to one local activist
and political candidate.
“Many neighbors have come up
new ways of operating can lead
to unexpected challenges. Virtual
services are not always as seamless
as hoped because what works
for one program does not necessarily
work for another. Bullock said
the virtual mental health counseling
program at the Pride Center
of Staten Island is carried out
on a different platform than other
virtual programs since it requires
compliance with the confi dentiality
and privacy provisions of the
federal Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act, or
HIPPA.
Meanwhile, both organizations
have been forced to put off major
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to me and said, ‘I’m afraid of putting
up a mezuzah in my window
or displaying Hanukkah candles,’”
said Victoria Cambranes, who is
running to replace City Councilmember
Steve Levin, who faces
term limits in 2021.
Making matters worse, Cambranes
worries that the local 94th
Precinct is not taking this alarming
trend seriously.
“The local precinct isn’t really interested
in going after those guys,”
she said.
One local state legislator raised
events — at least temporarily. The
Brooklyn center’s community leadership
awards and gala has been
postponed, while Pride marches in
both boroughs will also not go on
as planned in June due to the coronavirus.
Bullock said her team is
“diligently working right now” to
explore virtual events surrounding
Pride this year because the organization
“understands that Pride
is something a lot of people look
forward to every year.”
Yet, in the darkest of times for
marginalized communities that
have been most impacted by the
pandemic, those working at both
centers have provided new platforms
POLITICS
his concerns with the precinct’s
commanding offi cer, Captain
Kathleen Fahey, on April 28, asking
that the Police Department’s
Hate Crimes Task Force tackle the
problem along with the Anti-Defamation
League, a Jewish nonprofi t
working to combat anti-Semitism.
“The rhetoric behind these
stickers can escalate into physical
violence and we will not stand for
that,” said Assemblymember Joe
Lentol in a written statement. “We
stand together as a community to
show that anti-Semitism and all
forms of hate are not welcome in
Greenpoint, Williamsburg, or anywhere.”
A spokesperson for the Police
Department said that cops are investigating
the stickering, but did
not immediately confi rm whether
the hate crimes unit was looking
into the case.
And Patriot Front stickers are
not the only episodes of hateful
incidents in the borough’s northern
neighborhoods — which have
seen anti-Asian tirades on signs at
McGolrick Park amid the coronavirus
pandemic, swastikas scribbled
onto local restaurants, and
other Nazi emblems littering local
streets.
“If enough of these things are
going on around you, you think
twice about how safe you are,” said
Cambranes.
for communities to stay connected
— even if it is not in person.
Amid the complexities of the migration
to virtual platforms, there
are some glimmers of hope that
the remote programs can provide
the foundation for new bonds that
could blossom into lasting, meaningful
connections in the future.
“People still have a way to communicate
with others,” Douglas-
Borren said. “That’s the most
important thing — that there is
somebody to talk to if need be. It
doesn’t have to be a therapist. Just
queer people in touch with each
other so they don’t have to feel
alone.”
GayCityNews.com | May 7 - May 20, 2020 9
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