"Swastika was named by the founders of the area who settled there," said Jon Douglass, Black Brook's supervisor, who was at the meeting but didn't have a vote.

None of the councilors returned a request for comment.

Douglass says the hamlet's name far predates World War II and came from the Sanskrit word meaning well-being. The four-sided geometric character that represents the swastika has been used for thousands of years in Indian religions and seen as a symbol of good luck.