3 days ago
"Kool-Aid Man Challenge" possibly to blame for fence-smashing vandalism on Staten Island captured on video
A Staten Island homeowner is dealing with costly damage to his property, all thanks to what may be part of a social media challenge.
And it's not the first time something like this has happened in the borough.
The vandalism appears to be part of a stunt called the "Kool-Aid Man Challenge," a nod to the commercial featuring the mascot of the popular drink bursting through a wall.
None of it sits well with Noby Augustine.
Young people are seen on video running full force and smashing through a fence at his home on Rathbun Avenue in the Prince's Bay section during the overnight hours on Monday. While doing so, they took the fence down and sent garbage cans flying.
Augustine is the latest resident on Staten Island to have his property vandalized that way.
"Monday night, I didn't sleep. I got sick because of that," Augustine said. "I looked from the window, so I saw like two kids were facing the fence and getting ready. So before I say something, they already jumped through the fence and they smashed it."
The two teens were seen putting their cellphones on the ground before busting through his fence. Augustine reported the incident to police, but he said it wasn't a unique situation, adding he returned home from a trip two years ago to also find his fence busted.
"It's not funny at all, but, yeah, [they] should not be doing this," he said.
Back in April, Ben Helwa's fence at his home in the Eltingville neighborhood was vandalized in similar fashion. Surveillance video shows three youngsters running through it, with one kid seen with his phone out to film.
"I was just in shock because, once again, these kids ran through the fence. They fled the scene. Are the kids even okay?" Helwa said.
Augustine said his fence is once again fixed, and he's getting the word out to warn others.
"Someone has to stop this," he said. "We should not be keeping quiet, like we should stop doing it. All the homeowners, like, they should be speaking up."
Police say these so-called challenges may seem harmless, but they are crimes. And for the pranksters, what might feel like a laugh online could quickly land them with a criminal record offline.
