That’s a Pretty Large Swastika You Have On Your Facade There, Red Hook Apartment Building
On Coffey Street in Red Hook stands a three-floor brick apartment building, unremarkable except for the giant, cream-colored swastika bricked onto its crown. The building was erected in 1926, the blog Lost City once reported. While its origins could have something to do with Nazi Party sympathy—it became their official symbol in 1920—the swastika is of course also an ancient symbol that for thousands of years meant good luck, and its not uncommon to find it in tile, stone, and embroidered work that predates WWII. But no reasonable Westerner could insist that its primary present-day connotation is not genocide and death camps, which is why people were upset when a Greenpoint jewelry store was found selling swastika earrings earlier this year. It’s not surprising that there’s a swastika on a building; there are swastikas everywhere, if you look. But it seems a little strange that the owner has left it to stand out so prominently!
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[HT So So Glos]
