Village of Nyack Administrator Responds to Accusations About Removing Hostage Posters

By M.C. Millman 

In response to reports of their Village Administrator pulling down signs of civilian hostages taken by Hamas terrorists, as reported by Rockland Daily article here, the Village of Nyack came out with a statement posted on their Facebook page. 

In the statement, the Village “condemned the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians,"  and declared that the Village "will continue its longstanding effort to fight anti-Semitism in all forms.”

They also included a statement from Andy Stewart, the Village Administrator and “proud member of a Jewish family".

“Like so many others,” Stewart states in the Facebook post, “I was appalled and heartbroken by the brutal terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on October 7. Locally, I have worked closely with our elected officials and leaders in Rockland’s Jewish community to identify and remove anti-semitic graffiti and to hang Israeli flags on Main Street as an act of solidarity with the people of Israel and Jewish members of our community.

“On Friday morning, in preparation for the Halloween parade, the Village DPW cleaned all of downtown, including removing several hundred posters from Main Street light poles, trees, and the Hezekiah Easter Veterans Square Gazebo. Village code prohibits affixing any posters to public property. As a veterans’ memorial, the gazebo is a special focus of routine maintenance. 

The village routinely cleans its property of all illegally posted materials and had, in fact, just repainted the gazebo and light poles throughout Main St, in the process removing all posted materials. 

“On Friday afternoon, I noticed more posters and proceeded to remove four at the gazebo. Not being in uniform, my actions were easily mistaken for an act of individual choice, rather than a fulfillment of official duty. 

“Again, the removal of posters was a routine maintenance activity and not intended to target any particular poster or point of view. However, in these times of anguish and raw emotion, when the Jewish community is understandably feeling under siege by rising anti-Semitism, I understand how easily actions like this can be misinterpreted, and I deeply regret that my actions inadvertently added to the pain so many are feeling. 

“There are many local businesses and property owners who might welcome the opportunity to host a poster or a lawn sign in a window or on a front yard and both I and the Village government encourage placement of posters and other signs of support there.”