11th Street Resident Says Home Vandalized Over Display Of Pro-Trump Signs
An 11th Street resident wants to “Make Gowanus Great Again,” but not everyone is on board with his political leanings.
According to Brooklyn Paper, vandals threw projectiles at the home of Joshua Ramos on the night of June 24, breaking the glass of his home’s front door.
“It’s not fair, you can’t put anything up for Trump,” he told Brooklyn Paper [BP]. Ramos, who lives on 11th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues, said he will have to shell out $2,400 for door reparations. A pro-Trump poster displayed at the home was also torn that evening.
Ramos doesn’t believe neighbors in the immediate area are responsible. “[T]hey’re all friendly,” he says. He suspects “it was a drunk radical from elsewhere in the neighborhood,” writes BP.
Ramos said his main concern has to do with the safety of his children. “I can’t even take my kids anywhere, I’m constantly looking around,” he said. “It’s just like living in a different world, there’s no jobs, it’s corrupt. I think we need to get someone in there who isn’t a politician that can’t [sic] be bought.”
The Gowanus neighborhood was a hotbed of activity for Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders earlier this year. At the end of March, the Sanders campaign opened an office at 131 8th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues) — a few blocks away from Ramos’ home. The campaign held a rally there on March 26.
Campaign squabbling between the Sanders/Clinton supporters also made news at Park Slope store Items of Interest (60 5th Avenue between Bergen Street and St. Marks Place). The incidents did not involve vandalism, however owner Susie Kurkowski as well as various employees “heard it” from some Sanders supporters who were not happy to see the pro-Clinton t-shirts and memorabilia in her store.
Ramos told BP the police have not found the vandals at this time. And while Ramos tried to convince cops to investigate the incident as a hate crime, the case is not being conducted as such.
“I’ve got my [U.S.] flag up,” said Ramos. “I’m surprised they didn’t tear it down or burn it.”