Statement of Solidarity with the Polish Consulate — Murray Hill Neighborhood Association

Dear Consul General Sakowicz and our neighbors at the Polish Consulate,

We at the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association were extremely disturbed by the recent vandalism perpetrated on the Polish Consulate. We do hope none of your staff were in any way harmed.

This kind of defacing of property in our neighborhood cannot be tolerated. Please know that we stand with you and your staff as you recover from this assault and seek to find those responsible so they can be held accountable.

The Polish Consulate is a most distinguished and valued landmark building and has always been of enormous importance to the neighborhood. Any defacing of this structure is not acceptable and is an offense to our community.

I also want you to know that the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association has been actively engaged with our elected officials on these very issues. Just days before this incident, leaders from the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association led by Lilli Seidman Davis (Vice President, Grants & Fundraising) actually met with District 4 City Councilmember Virginia Maloney to address the graffiti, urban blight, and hate speech impacting our community (see the presentation that was created by Lilli showcasing our concerns and solutions).

We have long seen deterioration in our neighborhood and emphasized that this is unacceptable in New York City and requested the allocation of resources and funding necessary to take immediate corrective action. Additionally, we have engaged with other city and state elected officials, as well as relevant municipal agencies, to ensure these issues are prioritized and properly funded. Seeing what happened to you, we won’t continue to tolerate inaction to ensure this does not happen to you or anyone else again.

Please feel free to let us know how else we can help. You are our neighbor and we stand ready to support you.

Sincerely,

Jon Harari
President
Murray Hill Neighborhood Association

Cc: Deborah Landey, Barbara Sagan
Co-Chairs, Missions & Consulates Outreach Committee

Executive Board: Lilli Seidman Davis, Susan Demmet, Jessica Lavoie, Barbara Sagan, Heather Dolland-Tamam, Becky Flig, Kate Finnerty