Community searching for vandal harming garden that honors 9/11 victims

<p>Residents and police are searching for whoever is responsible for stealing flags from a World Trade Center memorial site on West 253rd Street in Riverdale.&nbsp;</p>

News 12 Staff

Jul 30, 2017, 5:11 PM

Updated 2,454 days ago

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Riverdale residents are asking for help to find a thief who is stealing from a memorial created to honor neighbors lost onSept. 11.
The community garden on Fieldston Avenue has had five American flags desecrated in under a month, according to a local resident. 
After the first incident right before the 4th of July, Herb Eysser has tried to dress the garden up with more red, white and blue, but the flags keep getting stolen.
"This is the fifth one that's been put on there in a month, and someone and it has to take time to do it too because they're secured significantly," says Eysser.
Eyyser says it is unclear who owns the land known as Endor Community Garden. A former neighbor adopted it from the Parks Department in the 1990s, but has since moved away.
Since, a community-wide effort has kept the space protected and converted it to remember those lost on Sept. 11.
Eyyser says the community has to keep watch on the space in order to try and prevent more incidents from occurring.He has no idea who the culprit could be, and he and fellow Community Board 8 members have contacted police and local politicians to help solve the mystery to no avail. 


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