October 12, 2007
Move Over, Ket! City Targets Child's Chalk "Graffiti"
Oh, no, is the city going to ban the purchase of Crayola Sidewalk Chalk? The Brooklyn Paper exposes the "new face of vandalism?": 6-year-old Natalie Shea, whose mother got a warning letter from the Department of Sanitation about the chalk drawings her daughter drew on their front stoop. The letter read, “PLEASE REMOVE THE GRAFFITI FROM YOUR PROPERTY. FAILURE TO COMPLY … MAY RESULT IN ENFORCEMENT ACTION AGAINST YOU.”
In an article that almost reads like a story from the Onion, it turns out that a neighbor called 311 to complain about the drawings, hence the DOS letter. The definition of graffiti and law enforcement around it are both specific and vague. The City Council says graffiti "any letter, word, name, number, symbol, slogan, message, drawing, picture, writing … that is drawn, painted, chiseled, scratched, or etched on a commercial building or residential building" "not consented to by the owner of the commercial building or residential building," while the cops say if it can be washed off, it's not graffiti - but it still may not be legal (think egging a car).
The young artist's mom Jen Pepperman wondered to the Brooklyn Paper why issues like "dog poop, garbage from ill-kept homes, and noise from car alarms" weren't being addressed while this was. And her father George Shea said, "I do love that kid, but I wish she would stop capping my tags.”
Related: The Drawing Center is having a free panel discussion about graffiti - "Con Artists: Criminalization, Censorship, and the Marketplace" - on Saturday, October 20. Case 2 and Kez 5 will be there - we hope someone mentions little Natalie!
Photograph of Natalie Shea, with DOS letter and chalk drawings, by Julie Rosenberg for The Brooklyn Paper
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The neighbor is probably some frigid, over-the-hill, lost her chance at a family chasing her career, mean bitter whore who takes her anger at not having children of her own out on decent children on the block.
My god, it wasn't even the neighbor's property... talk about being a meanie.
Good. These brats and their over-protective parents with a huge sense of entitlement need to be taught a lesson!
Chalkitti is disturbing. I have been told off by one of these parents as I walked down teh sidewalk to watch out for her kids artwork.
It's only art when rich obnoxious hipsters do it. when poor people do it, it's vandalism. and when racist people do it it's a hate crime. when rich white people do it, it's freedom of expression.
WTF..?!
This is beyond stupid..!
the city should be ashamed. so should that neighbor. they're meanies.
#1, that is probably the most true statement I've ever read on gothamist.
Gersh Kuntzman is funny. Kathy Dawkins -- the DOS spokesperson -- screwed this one up, though probably on orders from her superiors. Disregarding that the girl is 6 and she's using chalk, it still obviously doesn't meet the definition of graffiti because it's on her own property with consent from the property owners (her parents). Dawkins should have just said it was a screw up and that the letter should be ignored. By playing it straight she makes the DOS look like a bunch of bureaucratic buffoons.
If I can't draw swastikaz on synagogues and old dixie in harlem then this lil despot can't draw on the sidewalk. Surely Jake Dobkin and Judith Supine agree with me.
Whoever called 311 may have it in for this family unfortunately - if not this then something else to nit pick about - can they find out who called?
http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/maildos.html
send the commissioner a note.
There's probably at least 20 people per block in this city that aren't happy unless they're complaining about something that really isn't very important.
It's park slope man. People there are dicks if you don't live in boxes.
Haha. Wow. This is like when the city gave some girl scouts in Brooklyn tickets for unlicensed street vending.
Are you kidding me? "These brats and their over protective parents?" Have you ever heard of enjoying childhood? A six year old should be allowed to use sidewalk chalk and all of the miserable adults out there should stop and admire the beauty-it might even cheer you up. The lesson to be learned is to enjoy the journey...you are only here for a short while.
The city idiots continue to defy logic and intelligence. But at the same time the law is the law and the child has to answer to it. I would suggest 15 to 20 at hard labor and then parole for life. I also suggest someone should drop a noose on the neighbor's doorway, just to keep her on the edge.
Oh, the humanity! I would think Park Slope would be the last place anyone would complain about this. Isn't Park Slope the place you go to procreate and spawn before you move to Lawnguyland?
Where's the splasher when you need him!?
On a side note, if I saw that girl drawing on my building, I would say "What a beautiful drawing! Now go get a bucket of water and a sponge and clean it off".
Bitter old people with twitching ass holes. Missed out on life and have to make the rest of the world pay.
Leave the kiddies alone and go back to sitting and masturbating alone in your dark corner of the world.
'And her father George Shea said, "I do love that kid, but I wish she would stop capping my tags.”'
Ha, classic comment from Dad!
she's a six year for chrissake.
number one hit the nail on the head. dried up old hag had to think of her career first. now it's too late. I bet she's so selfish she won't even adopt because technically it's not her spawn.
chalkin-in, anybody??
The father's quote is hilarious...great sense of humor.
Somebody get me this kid's contact info--I need her to make some custom kicks for me!
Reality Czech is mean towards children because China no longer allows fags like him and his homo lover to adopt Chinese children.
Since he can never experience the joys of parenthood, he takes his anger out on families everywhere.
As soon as I read the headline I knew it had to be Park Slope. I'm cryin' in my beer.
Sigh. I live in and love the Slope, but I knew as soon as I started reading that that's where it was going to be...
Park Slope is great for families, but there are a fair share of the uptight, twitchy assholes mentioned above. And for the record, I don't have kids myself.
Wait, how do you know it's Park Slope?
As they'd say in Digg-land, RTFA:
"A 6-year-old Park Slope girl is facing a $300 fine from the city for doing what city kids have been doing for decades: drawing a pretty picture with common sidewalk chalk."
Notwithstanding the park-slopishness of the whole tale, it is kind of sad that cases like this are where gray areas of the law are exposed - but thus good bc we now know about them.
But can we have a complaint line for reporting overzealous callers of 311 as well?
Best thing ever: [hide guest comments]
Everyone knows that chalk-artistry is simply a gateway pastime that will lead to hallucinatory experiences like tea on the ceiling and a lifetime of chimney sweeping drudgery. Stay away from the chalk kids.
old bat needs to get a life and leave the poor kid alone.
little hooligan!
30 lashes with a cane!
maybe we should cut off her thumbs!
LOCK HER UP AND THROW AWAY THE KEY!
where is PETER VALLONE's outrage at this little hoodlum's vandalism!?!??!?
Why isn't she at work? Just leeching off society...
Hey, it's a gateway crime just like jaywalking and squeejee men - straight from the Giuliani "playbook"...
Lock her up and throw away the key!! I'm kidding... This is ridiculous I'd much rather see a child with chalk in her hands than guns or drugs. This does no harm, personally I would enjoy to walk down the road and see a child's artwork all over the sidewalk. The city should be ashamed of themselves...
What, they couldn't wait for the next rainstorm?
Just once, I'd love to see these folks who take these calls just say, "oh, knock it off" and hang up.