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A 19 year-old was arrested for causing almost $1 million in damages this past week. The police allege that Paul Bruno would tag parts of Staten Island, Brooklyn, and New Jersey, with his tag "Done," even hitting a Staten Island church. The NYPD calls him a "notorious interstate and citywide vandal," but his father points out that his son has "never been caught" and is "not on any surveillance tapes." The part of the story that got Gothamist was how Bruno was apprehended by 15 cops at a S.I. bagel store. Clearly, Mayor Bloomberg is not messing around when trying to nab the graffiti vandals!
Metro Area Graffiti Arrest
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Not a fan of Graffiti, but I'm dying to know what evidence was gathered against him.
"Citywide Vandals Task Force"? Didn't I read that the anti-graffiti task force was under consideration to be disbanded? Gotta Love an election year!
15 Cops? If true, um, a bit excessive. It would have been Marvelous if it was a Donut shop!
good riddance. i live on a block that is starting to become absolutely plastered with graffiti. it really changes the feel of the place to the point you're afraid to leave your car (or walk) on the street at night. lots of graffiti gives the impression that nobody's watching and all kinds of shit can take place.
i called the local precinct and they told me about their anti-graffiti initiative. apparently it involves some using first-time offenders that would otherwise go to jail to paint or spray buildings, but requires the permission of the building owners. And they don't start doing it until spring, so I've had to deal with the tags piling up all winter long. I'm going to give them another call soon and see if they're coming.
What I don't understand is why the city gives tickets to building owners for leaving trash on their sidewalk, but doesn't ticket owners of buildings for letting graffiti go unpainted. It is definitely a lot more of an eyesore. I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up now, it being an election year that sort of thing will never happen.
welcome to a big city, dirtgirl. don't you think there has been less graf in the last few years? compare it with the mid-90s, the late-80s, etc. so the "change" has really been less graf than more, and according to your graf-safety theory, you should really feel safer. then again, i dont know where you live. i would argue that the levels of graf has decreased city-wide; just look at fort greene, williamsburg, the entire borough of manhattan, lic, forest hills, south bx, flushing, gunhill, even parts of bed-stuy. frankly, i get worried when i see crack vials and heroin needles littered on the st, as i use to when i grew up in LES.
your analogy in the last paragraph is false. owners know when trash is picked up. when there is some sort of delay in trash pick, there is a public notice. so the owners have actively committed a wrong since they have control. in comparison, owners have no control over whether there is graf on their building. they may paint it one day only to have graf on the building the next day, at which point, in your ideal world, they can be penalized by the city. you may counter, "oh, the owners can sue the graf writer to recover damages," but how many day-time workers have time to go to court over $50-$200 in paint or the amount of money you propose is a suitable fine for absentee property owners. also, what i believe you are talking about is having the graf writers who have been arrested and are serving community service paint buildings which have been "bombed." in which case, of course, the owner would need to agree. i don't know about the seasonal requirement. i've seen the offenders on the st in mid-winter.
lastly, please keep in mind that paint fades, lives don't. a lot of these graf writers are 14-15 year olds who are depressed, lonely, neglected, and may not be as privileged as you when you were their age. many of these kids don't know any better. to jail them would basically guarantee recividism.
hey ken, thanks for justifying graffiti. what's next up for you? defending rapist and murderers?
dear "yahoo", i fail to see the connection that you tried to make. please explain further especially please point out where i justified the act of graf.
Ken, While I think "Yahoo" Went way off the deep end, I think Graffiti is a minor crime that merits punishment. I grew up I Jamaica Queens and most of my friends never bothered with graffiti. 14-15 years of age: They should know right from wrong and face the consequences.
s.d.: while i agree that 14-15 year-olds should know right and wrong and understand that the commission of crimes warrant punishments, and that writers who get caught should receive punishment, it is the question of what is the appropriate punishment for graffiti that i am concerned with. i'm of the school that believes punishment for minor crimes against minors should be rehabilitative. jail is not rehabilitative imo. of course, not everyone would agree with me. to equate graf writers with rapists and murderers is absurd.
also, i just read over dirtgirl (whose name i find kinda ironic) and also thought that there only problem with her analogy is that garbage going rancid on the st causes public health problems, whereas graf doesnt.
"that there only..." = "that the other..." sorry. it's late.
I Love graffiti. I am also middle-aged w/3 kids. Art makes the city seem alive instead of just littered with all the 'Legal' media forced down our throats. Stay up kids - crush the city! Don't ever quit!!!!
Destroy haters.
apparantly, i know done - he lives on my block.. KEEEP DOING YOUR THING KID!!
I confess I am really Ken.
I confess I am really Ken.