Upper Manhattan Candidate Has Campaign Signs Destroyed

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — With the Democratic primary for the 72nd State Assembly less than a week away, a candidate on Monday discovered a campaign sign broken to pieces in Upper Manhattan.

Nayma Silver Matos arrived at an uptown corner to find her campaign sign strewn on the ground — broken into parts.

"Look at my stuff, literally broken into pieces," Matos said in a video she posted to Instagram. "This is not the wind."

Matos told Patch that the empty bottle of liquor placed next to the broken easel was a symbolic choice.

"A few days ago, someone destroyed my property," Matos said. "They put an empty bottle of liquor next to the broken easel pieces. The liquor bottle in that way is symbolic of the phrase Rest in Peace."

"Someone was sending a message," she added.

When asked if the sign destruction would deter Matos from continuing her campaign, she answered simply: "Not at all."

Patch could not confirm if the sign was purposefully destroyed.

Matos, who currently serves as the Democratic New York State Committee Woman for Assembly District 72, is running against incumbent Manny De Los Santos and Silvia Smith.

De Los Santos won a special election in February to replace Carmen De La Rosa, after she was elected to City Council to replace Ydanis Rodriguez.

In the February election, De Los Santos defeated Matos, who also ran at that time, 61 percent to 31 percent.