Rally against bias graffiti at abandoned Central Islip church

Dozens of Long Island activists and Central Islip residents rallied on Sunday to decry graffiti targeting immigrants found outside an abandoned church last week.

At a parking lot near where the graffiti was discovered, demonstrators condemned the anti-immigrant language — a consequence, they said, of rhetoric spread by “MAGA Republican” politicians.

“The graffiti that was written on the building behind me, it condones violence,” said Kendra Cornejo of Make the Road Action, a grassroots advocacy group.

Suffolk County hate crimes detectives are investigating the graffiti, found Wednesday scrawled on a concrete block wall outside a chapel at Gullhaven Drive near Carleton Avenue, police said. As of Sunday, no arrests had been made.

State Sen. Monica R. Martinez (D-Brentwood) said earlier this week that a resident sent her a picture of the graffiti and she contacted Suffolk County Third Precinct detectives. Blue paint now covers it.

Multiple local politicians have since condemned the graffiti and the message it conveyed, including Asemb. Phil Ramos (D-Brentwood), who attended Sunday’s rally.

“Throughout history, whenever you have leaders trying to demonize one segment of the community … atrocities always follow,” Ramos said.

Ramos and others at the rally expressed concern that anti-immigrant sentiment, like the message conveyed through the Central Islip graffiti, could lead to physical violence..

A 2009 report from the Southern Poverty Law Center cited numerous instances of Latino immigrants being victims of crime over the previous decade, ranging from low-level harassment to vicious attacks, Newsday has previously reported.

In 2008, Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero was fatally stabbed in Patchogue after he was attacked by seven teenagers looking to assault Hispanic immigrants, a hate crime that drew national attention to Suffolk County. The teens, who became known as the “Patchogue 7,” were sentenced to varying amounts of time in prison.

Police have asked anyone with information about the graffiti found in Central Islip to call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS.

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.