Residents of the Hyde Park neighborhood in Boston Sunday woke to a hateful display of vandalism spray painted across a new LGBTQ senior housing complex in the area.
“The fa***ts will die by fire,” “We will burn this,” and “Die slow” were among the messages.
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Last night cowards vandalized The Pryde, spray painting threats to kill us & burn down our building. Join the Hyde Park community TODAY 7/10 at 4PM to stand against hate & for a welcoming, inclusive & diverse Boston. 15 Everett St HP 02136 #bospoli #mapoli pic.twitter.com/v8T5TdioCL
— Gretchen Van Ness ☮️ (@vannessforMA) July 10, 2022
Gretchen Van Ness, executive director of LGBTQ Senior Housing Inc., said she started getting emails about the vandalism from neighbors out walking their dogs early Sunday morning.
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“We were heartbroken to wake up this morning to the terrible news that The Pryde was vandalized overnight with hate speech and threats spray-painted on virtually every sign,” LGBTQ Senior Housing Inc. said in a statement.
“We’ve received such widespread support in the neighborhood and we’ve really been welcomed,” Van Ness added. “This is not how the majority of people in Hyde Park feel.”
The Pryde senior housing project broke ground in June and will welcome new residents sometime in 2023. The project converts the former William Barton Rogers School into 74 units of mixed-income housing.
The vandalism was reported to Boston police just before 11 a.m. Sunday, a department spokesperson said Monday, and the case referred to Boston PD’s civil rights unit.
The department said investigators are checking all local video surveillance systems and asking residents for assistance.
By Sunday afternoon, supporters of the Pryde were rallying at the site, and the hate speech was covered in messages of support for the project and members of the LGBTQ community.
Hate & acts of vandalism will not be tolerated at the Pryde—or anywhere in Boston.
This affordable, LGBTQ+ senior housing development has been led by local residents, boosted by neighborhood voices & fueled by united support. We will move even faster to get it done. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ pic.twitter.com/cG9knQnKqt
— Mayor Michelle Wu 吳弭 (@MayorWu) July 10, 2022
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu addressed the demonstrators.
“We are here because the community refused to give up on this project,” Wu told the crowd of about a hundred supporters. “To see cowards come out in the dark of night and try to intimidate or put their hate on this larger community — it doesn’t represent what we have seen throughout this multiyear process.”
The vandalism, Wu tweeted, was “pathetic.”
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden addressed the incident in a statement.
“It breaks my heart to see these ugly threats targeting a project — and a community — of such importance to our city,” he said. “This is the second straight weekend of Boston being marred by hatred and intolerance. This cannot stand. My office will prosecute threats to the LGBTQ+ community wherever and whenever they occur.”
The weekend before Sunday’s attack, the white supremacist and anti-LGBTQ group Patriot Front demonstrated in Boston.
State Rep. Mindy Domb (D) said the incidents are related.
“We must condemn hate in all its forms and stand with all of its targets,” Domb said. “Rising incidents of anti-LGBT, anti-Semitism & anti-Asian activities are connected and happening in a climate of growing threats to our communities. Our collective rejection & outrage is urgently warranted.”
We must condemn hate in all its forms and stand with all of its targets. Rising incidents of anti-LGBT, anti-semetism & anti-Asian activities are connected and happening in a climate of growing threats to our communities. Our collective rejection & outrage is urgently warranted. https://t.co/7DTVlrOSp9
— Mindy Domb (@MindyForMA) July 11, 2022
