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American Atheists have put up this billboard on the Goethals Bridge after state Sen. Andrew Lanza called the group "hateful and malicious" over similar ads they put up in Times Square.

(Photo courtesy of American Atheists)

The American Atheists anti-Christmas billboard may be seen in Times Square and when crossing the Goethals Bridge.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A feud between state Sen. Andrew Lanza and the American Atheists organization has escalated, with the group posting an anti-religion Christmas message on a billboard next to the Goethals Bridge so it can be seen by Staten Islanders as they drive over the span.



Organizers behind the 20-foot-by-50-foot billboard -- which features the question, "Who needs Christ during Christmas?" and the answer, "Nobody" -- say its presence is a direct challenge to Lanza (R-Staten Island), who started a boycott and online petition campaign against a similar billboard the group took out in Times Square earlier this month.



The Goethals Bridge message, which faces drivers crossing the span toward Staten Island, continues, "Celebrate the true meaning of Xmas," and a word cloud including traditions such as family, friends, food, and charity. The animation ends by wishing "Happy Holidays" from the American Atheists.



An outraged Lanza called the sign the latest salvo in the "War on Christmas."



"Just as millions of Americans are preparing to celebrate Christmas, this intolerant and hateful group deliberately ridicules the solemn beliefs of millions of New Yorkers," Lanza said.

"Not only do the people behind this group not believe in God, but they obviously don't believe in decency, civility and kindness to fellow human kind either. This is part of a continued 'War on Christmas' and also upon the belief and value system of millions of Christian, Jewish and Muslim people who have faith in God. Religious persecution of the kind that similarly lead to the Holocaust began with small evil baby steps of ridicule and hatred of the religious beliefs of others."

The state senator fired the first shot in the feud by starting a boycott and petition campaign against a similar digital billboard the group posted in Times Square. The billboard went up on Dec. 3, and was moved on Monday in what the group claims was a planned relocation to where it is now, Penn Plaza.

Lanza's online campaign called for the immediate withdrawal of the advertisement and a boycott of Times Square. It had garnered 1,000 signatures by Friday morning. The senator also seeks revocation of the American Atheists' tax-exempt status.

Petitions will be forwarded to the office the mayor, the City Council, the attorney general and the Times Square merchant community, the petition says.

In response to Lanza's campaign, the half-century-old atheist group based in Cranford, N.J., installed on Wednesday an additional billboard that now is seen by drivers crossing the Goethals Bridge.

The group is calling on Lanza to boycott businesses on Staten Island, as he vowed to do in Manhattan.



"We have responded to State Senator Andrew Lanza's hateful announcement by putting up another billboard in Lanza's own district (Staten Island)," American Atheists announced on the group's web site, adding that the latest message was installed on Wednesday night.

"We will not be silenced or smeared by a bigoted elected official, nor will we allow our members and the other tens of millions of American atheists to be slandered by a representative of our own government," said American Atheists President David Silverman.

"We stand behind our billboard and we want the people of Staten Island to know that they don't need religion to have a great Christmas, either. We are putting up this billboard as a challenge to Senator Lanza. Now the question is, was the senator posturing, or does he have the guts to call for a boycott in his own district?"

Lanza's staff was checking on Friday to determine if the billboard even was in the state senator's district.