NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A noose found hanging from a tree in a Harlem park was a remnant of a construction project, the NYPD said Tuesday evening.
A parkgoer spotted the noose hanging from a tree in Marcus Garvey Park, near the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater, on Saturday, THE CITY first reported.
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force launched an investigation soon after, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday afternoonasked the New York State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to investigate as well.
On Tuesday evening, however, the NYPD's task force said it determined the rope was “left over from a construction scaffold that was removed in the fall.”
“The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force investigated this incident thoroughly,” it said in a tweet. “The rope was used to hoist construction materials.”
A Parks Department employee took the noose down and reported it to police soon after the parkgoer discovered it, THE CITY reported.
In his statement on Tuesday, Cuomo said he was “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.”
“New York is no place for hate, and the progress we’ve made as a society will not be undone by the work of a few cowards,” he said. “We will continue to stand united and condemn hateful acts that target and threaten people because of their race, religion or sexual orientation.”