As antisemitism surges locally and nationwide, a customer at an Upper East Side tailoring shop made an alarming find on Monday: a shirt with a Nazi armband attached to it.
NYC Council Member Julie Menin (D-Manhattan) posted a photo of the hateful garb on her X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, May 6, which was also Holocaust Remembrance Day. The garment in the picture appears to be a white buttoned-down shirt with a swastika armband pinned to one of the sleeves.
“A constituent in my district alerted me to the fact that a tailor on the UES has this hanging in his queue to be tailored,” Menin posted. “I have reached out to this business and they will not be tailoring this item and the NYPD is currently investigating.”
A constuient in my district alerted me to the fact that a tailor on the UES has this hanging in his queue to be tailored. I have reached out to this business and they will not be tailoring this item and @NYPDnews is currently investigating. pic.twitter.com/IiLZUwVSr7
— Julie Menin (@JulieMenin) May 6, 2024
According to Menin, a customer walked into Ignacio’s Tailor at 119 E. 60th St. on Monday morning and became very concerned when she saw the garment hanging in line to be serviced. When the customer confronted the staff about it, they said they did not know how it got there, Menin explained.
The council member then called staff at Ignacio’s, who said they would not be fulfilling the order.
“The fact that this garment is there is unbelievably offensive,” Menin said. “It’s one of the worst hate symbols.”
amNew York Metro reached out to Ignacio’s for comment, but no one answered as the shop was closed at press time.
A similar incident on the Upper East Side occurred in 2022, according to the New York Post, when a woman discovered the cash she withdrew from a neighborhood ATM was stamped with Nazi symbols.
‘It could be used for a play’
Menin added that she is willing to give the situation the benefit of the doubt — that perhaps whoever brought the garment in to be serviced could have done so for reasons other than displaying hatred.
“To be fair, it could be that this is not nefarious,” the council member said. “It could be that this is an item that is being used for a play, for a production like ‘The Sound of Music,’ something were you need this outfit. But it needs to be called out. It’s very important to call out hate symbols as soon as you seen them.”
New York City has been inundated with hate crimes in recent months. Just last month, the NYPD announced it was investigating two hate crimes in Manhattan, including one near Columbia University that involved a flag-burning incident and assault.
Incidents of hate and bias have been rising so much in city schools that Schools Chancellor David Banks implemented a plan earlier this year to battle bigotry in the classrooms that includes professional development and an expansion of instructional resources on antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Ambivalence to a hate symbol
At press time, the NYPD was not able to confirm that the incident at Ignacio’s was being investigated, or even reported.
Many people commented on Menin’s post in support of an investigation into the case. Shockingly, others seemed ambivalent toward it, even questioning why a criminal investigation is needed.
“Why are you getting the NYPD involved? What crime has been committed?” commenter Lou Perez posted.
Other comments echoed this sentiment, including what appears to be a sarcastic one from KittenWaffy14, who wrote, “I’m glad tax dollars are being used to investigate an article of clothing waiting to be tailored.”
But still, many commenters alluded on the post that the incident should be looked into more.
“Thank you for standing up to hate,” commenter Stephanie Torkian wrote. “This is our city. There is no room for haters. This is a city for everyone.”
Commenter Ariel Gonzalez wrote, “A lot of ppl in your replies sound like they don’t have a problem with servicing Nazis.”
