A teenager has been charged in the vandalism of a menorah in an Upper East Side park last week, police say.
The 14-year-old has been charged with criminal mischief and hate crime after police found the menorah inside Carl Schurz park broken into pieces, with half of it missing, after it was lit during an annual holiday ceremony Sunday, Dec. 6, attended by hundreds as they marked the first night of Hanukkah.
Police said they were able to identify the suspect through a tip to their Crime Stoppers line.
The menorah had been standing in a section of the park along the water, and it did not appear there were security cameras nearby.
Rabbi Elie Weinstock was among the first to discover the menorah knocked over in the park at 86th Street and East End Avenue, just two blocks from Gracie Mansion.
"It's a hit in the gut. It takes awhile for it to process," Weinstock said at the time. "Last night we gathered to kindle the menorah, bringing light to the world and this morning we found that we were met by an act of darkness. But light always overcomes darkness."
