HASTINGS – Incidents that have “besmirched” Hastings are contrary to the goal of the village to be “a good community, embracing diversity and openness.” That message came Friday from the five-person village board in the wake of incidents that have occurred in recent days.
“Unequivocally, the board rejects these acts and calls them for what they are – hate,” the members wrote.
A letter to residents signed by Mayor Peter Swiderski and Trustees Nicola Armacost, Daniel Lemons, Walter Stugis and Meg Walker pointed to handbills posted on Hillside Woods manufactured by a “white identity” group aligned with “the virulent elements of the alt-right.” That comes after swastikas were found scrawled at the school last month and graffiti defacing a residence last year.
“These don’t emerge on their own out of nowhere and they are sadly not isolated,” the message from the village board read. “They are part and parcel of a rising intolerance across our land. That we are not immune here in our beloved village hurts and frightens us.”
The board denounced those incidents “and the message they spread – we stand firm in stating, ‘no, this is not us and it will never be us.’ Not in our town – not now and not ever.”
