Mayor Mark and i95 Cancel Out Message of Hate in Danbury

Saturday morning, i95's Digital Managing Editor Joseph Echevarria was pulling through the intersection of North Street and Hayestown Road and looked up at our Townsquare Media Billboard that advertises both the Home of Rock 'N' Roll and our sister station, Kicks 105.5. He noticed someone had spray painted a message of hate. The criminal wrote "KKK" in bright red letters.

We reacted swiftly, and with the help of the Mayor's office and the Danbury Police Department, the message was covered. Sunday morning (February 9) my friends, co-workers and the Mayor of Danbury, Mark Boughton gathered with me at the site to cancel this message and replace it with one of love:

In 2020, ignorant, hateful ideas still linger -- it's a sad truth. It's up to the rest of us who know better to meet these messages where they live and take them down.

We spoke with the President of the NAACP's Danbury Branch, Glenda Armstrong, who noted that these incidents are all too prevalent in our communities and that all of us, regardless of race, are impacted by these types of hateful messages. She said it is our duty as neighbors to be mindful and vigilant when we encounter these things rather than simply look the other way.

Thank you to Mayor Mark, the Danbury PD and everyone in the City of Danbury for their cooperation and investigation into this matter. If you have any information that can help move the inquiry along please contact the Danbury Police Department at (203) 797-4614.

Thank you to Joey Ech, Tim Sheehan, Shannon Kenefick, Ethan Carey, Mike Rich and all of my colleagues for taking time from their weekend to give this the attention and effort it deserves. I'm proud to be part of a team that will not allow this type of hate speech to be attached to our logo or propagated in our city. Townsquare Media and our radio station pride ourselves on serving ALL of our community, which means we have no tolerance for any act that goes against our inclusiveness of everyone. There's no place for it and I work with people who know that.

It's worth noting the City of Danbury has a Graffiti Task Force and you can reach them with information on this matter or any illegal message at (203) 796-1662. You can also reach the Danbury confidential tips line at 203-790-8477.