With no report of vandalism, village officials believe swastikas recently found on the home and property at 1 Delphine St. were put in place by the resident of the property, and as such the village can take no action.
“I talked to our attorney and there are first amendment rights at play here. If it was vandalism, then we could help get rid of it, but if the homeowner put them there that makes it more complicated,” said Mike Baratta, mayor of Owego.
Noticeable from North Avenue, the two swastikas, one spray painted in green on a second story door and the other a lawn sculpture made from paving stones are noticeable to anyone who drives by them.
“That is not the message we want to send in the village, but our attorney said there is no law against displaying things like that on your home property,” Baratta said.
Originally spotted on Monday, Nov. 25, neither the Tioga County Sheriff’s Department nor the Owego Police Department have taken a complaint regarding vandalism at that location. According to publicly available property tax documents the owner of the property is Damon Tinkham. A search online shows that according to whitepages.com a Dason Tinkham is the actual occupant.
Multiple attempts to contact both Damon and Dason Tinkham for comment were unsuccessful. All publicly available phone numbers for both men have been disconnected.
Baratta said that a concerned citizen initially made him aware of the situation and that after looking into the matter with code enforcement he has determined that it is not a rental property. He added he was sympathetic to the property’s neighbors.
“Personally, yeah, it’s rough on the neighbors and I see their side for sure. But as a government it would be illegal for us to take the blocks off the yard or paint over it,” Baratta said.
In a press release issued Tuesday morning, Baratta cited a Supreme Court decision in the case Texas vs. Johnson, that litigated the very issue and found in favor of free speech.
“I am in no way saying I support what is being displayed, I think as a community Owego would not support those ideas, but it is not the government’s place to say what can or can not be displayed on an individual’s private property,” Baratta added in the statement.
The swastikas come at a time of heightened anti-Semitism in America, as according to the non-profit Anti-Defamation League, 2018 saw the third highest number of incidents in four decades of tracking statistics representing a 99 percent increase from only 2015.
Original Story — Residents of Owego awoke Monday morning to find that the house located at 1 Delphine St. in Owego, N.Y., and at the underpass where traffic enters the village, has been adorned with two swastikas on the property. On the second floor of the white house a green swastika has been spray painted on what appears to be the exterior of a door and on the front lawn square paving stones have been used to create a large lawn sculpture swastika. Both are visible from the street.
When contacted about the situation, Village of Owego Mayor Mike Baratta said that while a concerned citizen made him aware of the swastikas this morning, it has yet to be determined who put them up or why. He added that he is in the process of contacting village officials to determine what the next course of action will be.
According to the Owego Police Department and Tioga Sheriff’s Department, no complaints have been taken regarding the home. Currently it is uncertain as to whether the swastikas were put in place as an act of vandalism or if the current occupant or homeowner put them up themselves.
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