Police Investigating Swastikas Painted on Kinnelon Properties

When Louise Solomon learned from her son that a swastika had allegedly been painted on her driveway on Nov. 4, she felt "creeped out" but she said this was not the first time something like this has happened.

"Five years ago when this happened, I could chalk it up to somebody had a vendetta against [my son]," she said.

Solomon said about five years ago, her car, which was parked in her Lakeside Trail driveway, was keyed with the word "Jew" and a Jewish star. But after last week's incident, Solomon said she plans to approach the Thursday to see if the borough can come up with a community service or educational type of consequence for these kinds of incidents.

Solomon is not the only Kinnelon resident who reported a swastika drawn near her home in the past two months. In October, police responded to on Vista Court and police said a third incident on Heather Terrace was also reported on Nov. 4.

Lt. John Schwartz said police are investigating the incidents and have arrested three juveniles in connection with one of the incidents, but are unsure if the juveniles are responsible for the other incidents.

"We have no evidence at all that these things were related," Schwartz said.

In order to charge a person or persons with the vandalism crime, Schwartz said they must admit the action to the police.

Schwartz said the investigation of all three incidents are still ongoing.

Solomon said she feels that borough parents need to be better educated about the meaning of such symbols and labeled the incident as "bullying."

"Bullying is such a difficult thing. I feel like I'm being targeted and I don't understand why and I just feel like it's definitely not welcoming and I've been in the community for 25 years, I'm pretty much the storytime lady and I just want everybody to know that it does make me feel a little unsure about the community and the feelings that people have toward me [and my family]," she said.

What Solomon would like is for the borough to force those charged with the crimes to write a composition that requires research on the Holocaust, the history of slavery, or another topic, depending on the nature of the crime, and for parents to get involved as well.

"It's not just a Jewish thing," she said. "It's a gay thing, it's a black thing it's an Asian thing. Everybody has to stand up and I'm going to start off."