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Upper East Side kosher restaurant vandalized
Rothschild TLV, an Upper East Side restaurant, was vandalized by a masked man early Wednesday morning. FOX 5 NY's Kendall Green spoke with the owner, who says he believes antisemitism was a motive.
UPPER EAST SIDE - Rothschild TLV restaurant was bustling with business on Wednesday night in NYC, despite what happened just before daybreak.
The Jewish-owned restaurant on the Upper East Side was vandalized overnight around 2:10 a.m., according to its owner, Mike Kalbo.
"I just got a text message with a picture from my neighbor showing the broken glass and then the police came, the reporters came," Kalbo told FOX 5 NY.
The restaurant’s surveillance cameras captured the act as it happened.
The act was caught on the restaurant’s surveillance cameras, where you see the man break the glass – hitting it with some sort of heavy object – causing about $500 worth of damage and shattered glass.
"He came to the restaurant. At first, he passed the restaurant, then he came back after 30 seconds, went through the window and poked the window," Kalbo recalled after reviewing the footage.
The restaurant's owner has his own ideas what could’ve been behind the vandalism, saying he was a target – "because it's a kosher restaurant."
Rothschild TLV restaurant on the Upper East Side of NYC.
Kalbo, after the incident, says he’s received a ton of support from many of his Jewish peers.
A city hall spokesperson sent FOX 5 NY a statement regarding the incident, saying: "The NYPD is aware of a series of incidents that took place at several businesses on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and is investigating. We are also aware that many of these sites are visibly Jewish-run businesses, and we understand how unsettling this news may be for a community that is already on edge. As part of the investigation, the NYPD is looking into whether these were biased attacks, and if found to be true, will not hesitate to arrest and charge the individuals responsible accordingly."