Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NJ Cemetery Vandalism Caused by 4 Teens
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 11, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 11, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A week and a half ago, hundreds of headstones at the Poile Zedek Cemetery in New Brunswick, NJ were toppled over, raising concerns that the Jewish cemetery had been targeted in a possible hate crime. Yesterday, when four teens, a 15-year-old, two 16-year-olds, and a 17-year-old, were arrested, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said that the investigation so far did not suggest this "was an attempt to intimidate, target or harm the Jewish community."
The Star-Ledger had a straightforwardly depressing explanation of the events:
Authorities said three of the teens first struck on New Year's Day, toppling 17 headstones. Three days later, they re turned with the fourth friend and systematically upended row after row of the granite stones, some weighing more than a ton. Kaplan said it took the teens up to four hours to complete the desecration.
When it was done, 499 stones, many of them cracked or broken, littered the cemetery's gently sloping grounds off Joyce Kilmer Avenue.
It may cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair the gravestones, leading to the creation of a Cemetery Restoration fund. Congregation Poile Zedek' s Rabbi Abraham Mykoff said, "We have some solace in the fact that they were apprehended, and moved by the support and empathy we've received from Jews, Christians and Muslims."
The teens are in a juvenile detention facility; each was charged with "criminal mischief, desecration of venerated objects and conspiracy to commit desecration." And here's an audio slideshow of the damage - it's pretty disturbing.
Image from 1010 WINS
Tagged
cemetery desecration
crime
hate crime
Middlesex County
new brunswick
new year
new years
nj
Poile Zedek
The Star
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot and killed on Midtown subway platform Saturday afternoon, NYPD says
Police said they're searching for a person of interest.
By
Ryan Kost
and
Elizabeth Kim
Published Oct 17, 2026
Modified Oct 17, 2026
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
News
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans, but we could get used to this.
By
Catalina Gonella
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
By
Willow Higgins
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
By
Rosemary Misdary
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .