Newburgh business owners say they were target of racially charged vandalism

Two Orange County business owners say the racially-charged images were spray painted by vandals outside their restaurant.

News 12 Staff

Aug 25, 2021, 9:57 PM

Updated 1,141 days ago

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Two Orange County business owners say racially charged images were spray painted by vandals outside their restaurant.
Wherehouse owners Daniel and Michele say they were shocked Tuesday to see the images on their surveillance cameras – showing two men spray painting anti-Antifa graffiti on their restaurant’s front windows on Liberty Street in Newburgh.
The spray paint is already cleaned up but the owners say what happened here and why they’re upset isn’t about the vandalism.
“It goes completely counter to what we represent," says Michele.
The couple opened their restaurant and bar in 2009, and the business is considered an anchor in the struggling inner city.
They stayed open during tough financial times and the pandemic and say now with politics as they are, they don’t discuss it.
“This is a place where I want people to escape from the madness that’s surrounding our globe, to come here and get away from it all," says Daniel Brown.
The couple say they take offense to the images and are confused about why they were targeted.
News 12 reached out to Newburgh police about the investigation but hasn’t heard back.