October 27, 2007
Second Sidewalk Chalker Nabbed!
Hot on the heels of 6-year-old Natalie Shea being caught and fined for chalking up her sidewalk, a second chalker has been nabbed! This one, Ellis Gallagher, is older -- so his punishment was a bit more serious. Seriously! For chalk! The dusty, porous sedimentary rock that leaves markings which wash away in the rain. The Brooklyn Paper reports:
The city’s crackdown on sidewalk chalk “vandals” is officially out of control! It was bad enough when the Sanitation Department threatened the parents of a 6-year-old Park Slope girl with a $300 fine if they did not remove the offensive "graffiti” — her sidewalk chalk drawings on their own front stoop.Gallagher, whose previous markings you can check out on Flickr, said that in the past cops would let it go when they saw he was only using chalk. However, on October 17th while creating a chalk marking for PBS's "New York Voices" program, they changed their tune. We can't think of anything more temporary than outlining shadows in chalk, but the cops ultimately charged him with making graffiti, possession of graffiti-making materials and criminal mischief. Maybe they should go to the source next time...and bring Crayola down!But after we ran our front-page story about Natalie Shea and her chalk “vandalism,” a Cobble Hill chalk artist who had never been arrested before suddenly found himself in handcuffs and spending a night in the lockup.
Coincidence? Not likely, considering that the artist, Ellis Gallagher, had been quoted in the original Brooklyn Paper piece — a story that the desk sergeant just happened to be reading when Gallagher was brought in.
Photo via Karen Zraick's Flickr.
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you think you have rights in this city, but you'd be wrong - love that they charged him with 3 crimes for what really isnt 1
nothing like wasting taxpayers money along with caring about more "serious" crimes.
Now he's in the system, fingerprints and all.
probably DNA if they had their way.
wonderful.
Steven, I agree with you. This is a huge waste of taxpayers money. A little girl can't even draw rainbows on the sidewalk without the threat of a fine? The laws in this city, not to mention the cops in this city, have gone entirely out of control.
And who polices the police? So this "graffiti" artist goes to court. Let's say the judge throws out the case. Will the cops then stop making these stupid arrests? Who is in charge of these police officers? Doesn't the chief of police devise a list of priorities or can cops waste their time arresting people for ridiculous supposed "crimes" ???
I seem to recall more serious crimes in this city - like the multiple deaths of unarmed black men by the NYPD.
Rant out.
oh yeah that reminds me - road rage off duty not in uniform cop murders a kid, leaves scene cause he was probably drunk and its debatable whether he'll even be charged - wheres the outrage?
I think we all need to go buy a box of chalk and "beautify" our bits of sidewalk. At the same time, even. It'll be like a city-wide block party. Or something.
My friend was arrested by the NYPD's Citywide Vandals Task Force for taping flyers to light posts.
AHT,
I'll do it (I live right next to a police station).
Fuck this city. Fuck the police.
"I think we all need to go buy a box of chalk and "beautify" our bits of sidewalk. At the same time, even. It'll be like a city-wide block party. Or something."
Right on!
A massive "Chalk In" where thousands of New Yorkers chalk up the sidewalks and tell those who oppose it basically to go FTS.
Someone should pick a date. Perhaps the day Crayola was born.
Perhaps they would like to confiscate the chalk from the schools as well! Teachers are only modelling this indecent act to their students anyway and providing possible illegal substances for grafitti purposes on sidewalks.
Isn't anything sacred anymore? A child should be able to use sidewalk chalk outside their homes.
And New York thought the school system was screwed up....now the cops?
WTF????
Where's our public advocate.
these kinds of things no longer even surprise me
Agreed, it's ridiculous that he was arrested for doing something as harmless as drawing with chalk. Ellis G's chalkings always make me smile when I see them.