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Make some noise: Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock, hundreds rally against racist Trump graffiti in Adam Yauch Park

Make some noise: Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock, hundreds rally against racist Trump graffiti in Adam Yauch Park
Photo by Caleb Caldwell

He’s gotta fight for your rights.

The Beastie Boys’ Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz rallied with hundreds of Brooklynites and fans on Sunday after some jerk graffitied swastikas and the phrase “Go Trump” in Adam Yauch Park — the Brooklyn Heights playground named for his late band-mate, who grew up around the corner.

The emcee encouraged the crowd to keep fighting similar acts of racism that are on the rise in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s win — and he dropped a few famous lyrics in process.

“We can’t and we won’t and we don’t stop,” he said, quoting his band’s 1994 song “Sure Shot.” “Keep your eyes open, stand up for each other, don’t be afraid to step in or enlist the help of others — because this is home-grown terrorism for real.”

Horovitz wasn’t the only star who turned out — his wife, feminist rocker Kathleen Hanna, and actor Ben Stiller shivered along with the huge crowd at the outdoor event, which included rousing group sing-alongs of “We Shall Overcome” and “This Land is Your Land” and speeches from area pols and faith leaders. And attendees say it warmed their hearts to see so many people band together in response to the anti-Semitic scribbles.

“It’s humbling to share similar vibes with all of our neighbors coming out,” said Carroll Gardens resident Corrie Zaccariah. “What a positive way to react to such an ugly thing.”

Local families found the offensive message on train-shaped play equipment in the State Street recreation area on Friday and reported it to state Sen. Daniel Squadron’s office, which sent city workers to scrub it off that night.

Neighbors have now covered the spot with hearts, flowers, and Tibetan prayer flags, as Yauch — though born into a secular Jewish family — was a Buddhist.

Police are investigating the vandalism as a hate crime, though plenty of amateur online detectives are dismissing it as a prank. Squadron said he did consider whether publicizing the swastikas would give the perpetrator the attention he was seeking, but decided condemning them was the only “moral” thing to do.

“If it is a prank, then the worst we’ve done is send a strong message and become stronger as a community,” said Squadron. “If it’s serious and we do nothing, we risk our Republic itself.”

Squadron called on Trump to denounce this and other acts of racism being carried out in his name — and Horovitz also blamed the president-elect and his pals for inciting racism and bigotry during the election campaign.

“This kind of graffiti has been popping up all over the country because we’ve elected a president who’s given our children the message that it’s okay to write ‘white power’ in their high-school hallways, that it’s okay to attack women and girls, that Latinos and Muslims and Jews are bad people, and that you can electroshock the gay out of somebody,” he said.

He noted that the park graffiti isn’t even the first post-election attack in the area — a woman at a Boerum Hill bar on Nov. 12 after overhearing her saying she’s disappointment in the election results.

Brooklynites can report any incidents they witness to the District Attorney’s dedicated hate crime hotline at (718) 250–4949, new District Attorney Eric Gonzalez told the crowd, vowing to prosecute the perpetrators.

Reach deputy editor Ruth Brown at rbrown@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260–8309. Follow her at twitter.com/rbbrown.