A blue flag with a Star of David, two swastikas and the letters “NYU” was waving on the roof of the Steinhardt building as hundreds of graduates and family members walked along West Fourth Street during NYU’s annual Grad Alley event shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday. 

Passersby at the outdoor celebration spotted the flag — which repeatedly moved up and down the flagpole — before it was removed around 15 minutes later. Shortly after, at least four New York City Police Department officers and five Campus Safety personnel entered the building. An NYU staff member who requested to remain anonymous told WSN the NYPD will review camera footage in the next few days and potentially investigate the incident as a hate crime.

“We are shocked and deeply troubled that this hateful symbol expressing antisemitism was raised on a flagpole overlooking Washington Square Park,” NYU spokesperson Wiley Norvell said in a statement to WSN. “Campus Safety responded immediately to remove it and we are working closely with the NYPD to identify whoever is responsible.”

The staff member said the roof is typically locked and inaccessible to students, but that campus safety or other employees may have access. They said an NYU administrator first reported the incident to the Campus Safety department, although it is unclear who took the flag down.

Tisch senior Max Bolen said he noticed it at around 5:15 p.m. while standing with his friends by Bobst Library. 

“It definitely looked like it was bobbing up and down, and it was hidden behind the wall so you couldn’t see it for like a solid minute and then it would come back,” Bolen, a Jewish student, said in an interview with WSN. 

NYU Hillel president and CAS junior Adina Fridman told WSN the incident was “broader pattern in which antisemitism is increasingly dismissed or normalized under the guise of political expression.”

“Symbols tied to the genocide of millions of Jews carry profound pain and trauma, and their use has no place in a campus community that values dignity, safety, and respectful dialogue,” Fridman wrote in a statement. “I appreciate the swift response of the university in removing the display shortly after it was reported and for taking the incident seriously.”

Last December, Campus Safety and the NYPD investigated graffiti displaying a swastika alongside profanities directed toward Indian, Black and Jewish students at NYU’s Dibner Library as a hate crime. In September, Campus Safety also investigated defacement of a Weinstein Hall door “with antisemitic graffiti.” Around a week prior, Campus Safety also looked into an antisemitic hate crime after a student’s mezuzah was stolen from their Weinstein dorm door. 

Amanda Chen contributed reporting. 

Contact Leena Ahmed and Yezen Saadah at [email protected].