The New York Police Department's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating an attack on a Capital One branch on Manhattan's Upper East Side after the anti-Israel group Palestine Action claimed responsibility for vandalizing the property on Monday morning, reported local media.
Police said the incident occurred at approximately 7:50 a.m. at the bank on East 86th Street near Second Avenue.
A brick was thrown through a window, leaving shattered glass, while the slogans "Pal Action" and "Drop Elbit" were spray-painted in red on the building and its front door.
Palestine Action, which campaigns against defense companies with ties to Israel, has previously targeted Capital One over its financial relationship with Israeli defense manufacturer Elbit Systems.
The group, which has been proscribed as a terrorist organization in the UK, claimed responsibility for Monday's vandalism, alleging that Capital One had provided more than $500 million in loans to Elbit to support Israeli weapons production.
"We will no longer allow this country, and the companies that plague it, to be involved in the genocide of the Palestinian people without answering for their crimes," the organization said in a statement quoted by ABC New York.
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who is Jewish and represents the district where the attack occurred, called for an immediate investigation into whether the incident constituted an antisemitic hate crime.
"The vandalism and destruction at the Capital One branch on 86th Street is deeply disturbing and unacceptable. I have been in contact with the NYPD regarding this incident and have urged an immediate investigation, including whether this is a potential antisemitic hate crime. There is no place for hate, intimidation or violence in New York City," Menin wrote on social media, sharing a photograph of the damage.
Other local officials also condemned the incident.
Approximately two miles south of the vandalized bank, at Second Avenue and East 47th Street, a street renaming ceremony was held Monday to honor the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC), an organization dedicated to protecting and advocating for the city's Jewish community.
Speaking at the ceremony, JCRC CEO Mark Treyger addressed the continuing threat of antisemitism.
"Hate can shatter glass, but it will never shatter the spirit of the Jewish people and of New Yorkers. New Yorkers were built tough, were built different, and we're going to get through this like we always have," Treyger said.
No injuries were reported in the bank vandalism.
As of Monday, police had made no arrests. Investigators were examining the surrounding area for surveillance footage that could help identify those responsible.
The investigation comes amid continuing concern over antisemitic incidents in New York City.
According to NYPD figures released earlier this month, 245 of the 463 confirmed hate crimes recorded across the city during the first nine months of 2026 targeted Jewish victims.
That represents approximately 53% of all confirmed hate crimes, an increase of 1.2% compared with the 242 anti-Jewish incidents reported during the corresponding period in 2025.
The NYPD estimates that Jews account for roughly 10% of New York City's population. Based on those figures, Jewish residents have experienced hate crimes at approximately 10 times the rate their share of the population would suggest.
Several violent antisemitic incidents have been reported in recent months.
In September, a 48-year-old Bronx resident was arrested and charged with a hate crime after allegedly chasing a Jewish man in Brooklyn with a knife while shouting, “Heil f---ing Hitler."
In August, an attack at Manhattan's Central Synagogue during Shabbat services left a worshipper injured and caused property damage.
Also in August, six youths allegedly assaulted a haredi Jewish man in Borough Park and threw eggs at him.
The previous month, a Jewish man was stabbed outside a synagogue on Tisha B'Av.