Police release new footage pertaining to Congress Park vandalism

PHOTOGRAPHER: Erica Miller

Police are investigating vandalism to one of the classically designed marble statues in a secluded section of Congress Park in Saratoga Springs, an incident they believe occurred sometime early Tuesday morning. Seen here are the park's celebrated Spit ...

Police are investigating vandalism to one of the classically designed marble statues in a secluded section of Congress Park, an incident they believe occurred sometime early Tuesday morning.

Saratoga Springs police spokesman Lt. Robert Jillson said there is some potentially useful surveillance footage under review by police, and people were seen in the vicinity of the Italianate garden statues that were damaged. The police department is seeking the public’s help in identifying any of the four gentlemen, as they may have information in regards to the investigation.

The marble statue of the Greek forest god Pan was damaged, with the repair cost estimated at $6,000, Jillson said. The incident is believed to have taken place about 5:45 a.m. Tuesday. The city Department of Public Works, which manages the park, reported it to the police department later in the morning.

The Italianate gardens, which date from the early 1900s when Richard Canfield owned the nearby gambling casino, are next to the park’s celebrated Spit and Spat figures spewing water into a reflecting pool. The location is just off Spring Street, but somewhat hidden by a slope.

The Spit and Spat statues were the targets of teenage vandalism in 1999, an incident that led to the city’s installation of surveillance cameras throughout the park. Two 16-year-olds were arrested.

In 2013, a fountain near the Canfield Casino was vandalized on two different occasions, with the culprits caught on video. No arrests were made in that case.

Last fall, the centennial horse statue in the park, donated by Marylou and John Hendrickson, was damaged by vandals, but security camera footage helped lead to two arrests in the case.

Earlier this summer, the base of a historic urn near Canfield Casino was bent, but that incident was not caught on video.

Should anyone have information in regards to this matter, please call the police department at 584-1800 or call 584-TIPS to remain anonymous.

Reach Gazette reporter Stephen Williams at 395-3086, [email protected] or @gazettesteve on Twitter.