Marcus Garvey Park Noose Is Remnant Of Construction, Police Say

HARLEM, NY — A noose found hanging from the Marcus Garvey Park watchtower in Harlem was leftover from a restoration project at the landmark that wrapped up in October, the NYPD hate crimes unit said in a statement.

"According to the park director, it was left over from a construction scaffold that was removed in the fall. The rope was used to hoist construction materials," the NYPD hate crimes unit said in a statement released on Twitter.

The city launched its $7.9 million project to restore the historic Mount Morris Fire Watchtower in 2015, culminating in a grand reopening ceremony in October. Photos shared by the Parks Department from the day of the reopening show no scaffolding remaining at the site. The ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by dozens of community leaders, parks workers and local elected officials.

Parks Department Spokeswoman Crystal Howard said the department is "relieved that the NYPD’s swift investigation did not deem this incident a hate crime."

The Parks Department analyzed photos taken on the day of the watchtower's ribbon cutting, revealing a rope was hanging from a nearby tree.

Parks officials called the NYPD on Monday to report the noose after it was first spotted by a parkgoer over the weekend, THE CITY first reported.

Police officers took the noose in as evidence for an "aggravated harassment" investigation, an NYPD spokesperson said. The department's hate crimes investigation is ongoing, police said. Displaying a noose on a public building is considered aggravated harassment in the first degree, a class E felony, according to New York State laws. State law considers a noose to be "a symbol of racism and intimidation," and places it in the same category as cross burning and swastikas.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed the New York State Police to aid in the investigation Tuesday just hours before the NYPD Hate Crimes unit Tweeted its findings.

"I am disgusted by the recent discovery of a noose - the epitome of hatred and an evil icon of our nation's racist past - in Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park,' the governor said in a statement.