Anti-semitic graffiti defacing the Chinese Zodiac inspired artwork painted in the 7th and H street Chinatown crosswalk first came to the attention of the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) during the first week of August, and the BID, working with partners, immediately responded.
The word “Jew” was written with what appeared to be a permanent market on the rats of the zodiac painted in the crosswalk. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the BID’s maintenance ambassadors worked with the artist to first remove the graffiti on Aug. 2 with a special cleaning solution after involvement from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD.)
“We’ve put our ambassadors on alert to look out for any kind of suspicious activity around that intersection,” Neil O. Albert, executive director of the DowntownDC BID told WJLA News. “The downtown BID denounces any kind of racism, particularly the racist graffiti that was out there.”
Similar graffiti reappeared several times over the first two weeks of August. DC Crime Solvers is currently offering a reward of up to $1,000 to anyone that provides information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons in connection to these cases.
Watch the video of Neil Albert being interviewed by WJLA about the offensive graffiti:
Anyone with information about these cases is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’sTEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411.