MANHATTAN — A “Black Lives Matter” mural painted in front of Trump Tower in Manhattan was vandalized on Monday.
Police said a man walked up to the mural around 12:30 p.m., dumped red paint on it and fled west on 56th Street. He was described by police as a White man wearing a black hat and black T-shirt.
The Department of Transpotation repaired the mural Monday evening, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
“To whoever vandalized our mural on 5th Avenue: nice try,” he tweeted. “The #BlackLivesMatter movement is more than words, and it can’t be undone.”
The mural was painted along Fifth Avenue outside of President Donald Trump’s former home last week.
De Blasio was on hand Thursday to help complete the mural.
“Painting ‘Black Lives Matter’ outside his home is a message to him that in fact Black lives do matter, that Black people built New York City and they’ve never been compensated for all they did,” the mayor had said.
Dozens of cities across the country have painted similar murals, following in the footsteps of Washington, D.C.
Trump has slammed the mural, calling it a “symbol of hate” in a series of tweets earlier in July.
Trump claimed the mural would be “denigrating this luxury Avenue” and “will further antagonize New York’s Finest.”
This story comprises reporting from PIX11’s Mark Sundstrom, Anthony DiLorenzo and Andrew Ramos.
