It's been six months since an artist installed a plywood sculpture in front of the Bronx River Art Center that resembles a "14-foot-tall tagger's dream" — and the artwork is still graffiti-free. Even after the Daily News gave some ink (and seemingly jinxed) Diego Medina's geometric sculpture "Aurora," the unpainted structure has remained unpainted. So in a News follow-up, the artist tells the tabloid the experience "renews my hope in the public and the community." He added: "It reaffirms my good spirits in the way that the community appreciates art." What are the chances this is all an elaborate plot by the vandal squad to lure graffiti writers to into a trap in West Farms Square? more ›

Last night the former Vandal Squad cops met up at powerHouse Arena to face off with some of the former graffiti artists they busted back in the day. Did sparks and spraypaint cans fly? Not really. One attendee reports back, "As would be expected the cops stuck to their script (literally in the case of the author who clearly had the questions in advance and read his answers each time). According to the cops there, there have never been any incidents of police brutality against the graf artists, ever." Hmm, well that sounds...inaccurate. more ›

This Thursday powerHouse Arena in DUMBO will play host to an event that is bringing together some former graffiti artists with the NYPD officers who busted them back in the day. In one corner, Joseph Rivera, author of Vandal Squad: Inside the New York City Transit Police Department, 1984-2004, which documents his time with the NYPD Vandal Squad. In the other corner, street artists who have a bone to pick with the former cop for "using their names and art to put money in his bank account." more ›