New York, NY – An Upper West Side school crossing guard has been yanked from her post for loafing on the job and allegedly spewing antisemitic bile at parents and their children, The Post has learned.
The allegedly hateful slacker, assigned to the corner of West 79th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, was pulled from her spot Feb. 4 following complaints from community leaders and City Councilwoman Gale Brewer and an NYPD probe, said Dale Brown, president of the West 79th Street Block Association.
“The disciplinary process is ongoing,” NYPD Sgt. Edward Riley said, without disclosing her work status.
Rabbi Erica Gerson, a neighborhood parent, said the crossing guard unleashed “Jew hatred” against her and her 9-year-old daughter as they crossed the street Jan. 13.
“It was completely unprovoked,” she said.
Gerson said she heard the crossing guard pointing out “those Jewish kids” before cursing about the “sh–ty” food at Saba’s Pizza, a nearby kosher restaurant. When Gerson looked at the crossing guard, she said the woman became more offensive, calling her and her daughter “nasty” and saying, “now we know why there’s no peace in the Middle East.”
Gerson, a 43-year-old mother of four, said she heard the unhinged crossing guard being hateful towards another mom too, telling the woman: “Push your Jewish kids into the street and get hit by a bus.”
That parent confirmed she filed a “hate crime report” with police in a Feb. 2 incident.
A parent advised them of the crossing guard’s alleged antisemitic remarks, Brown said during a Jan. 13 community Zoom meeting. She and NYPD Capt. Neil Zuber, commanding officer of the 20th Precinct, had a discussion after the meeting and concluded the crossing guard “had to be removed.” Brown said she emailed Brewer and Brewer spoke with the crossing guard’s union to “pave the way” for her removal.
Officials declined to name the crossing guard.
Outraged parents last week filed a harassment complaint against the crossing guard at the 20th Precinct stationhouse, Brown said. The Hate Crimes Task Force is now investigating, she said.
Said Rabbi Gerson: “We do not want this woman re-assigned. That would not be OK. It would be unacceptable.”
In addition to the horrifying comments, Gerson said the crossing guard shirked her duties. “I’ll often see her getting coffee, and she’s always on her phone,” she said. “She didn’t do her job. She would stay underneath the scaffolding. She’d sit on the benches and eat.
“There’s so many schools in the area. There’s a genuine traffic risk at that intersection.”
On Thursday afternoon, The Post spotted a new crossing guard at West 79th Street and Amsterdam.
NYPD spokesman Riley said, “”Anyone who has taken an oath to serve in the NYPD is expected to act as a role model for our children and families. The NYPD does not tolerate discrimination in any form, particularly if it is rooted in hate speech or a bias against individuals. While the matter in question has remained under active internal investigation since the moment the Department was made aware of the allegations, the crossing guard in question was moved from that post pending the outcome of the investigation.”
Neither Local 372 nor District Council 37, the unions that represent the crossing guards, returned messages. The average salary for a city school crossing guard is about $29,000.
