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IPFS News Link • New York

Return of the taggers: New York is blighted with graffiti leaving areas 'looking like war zones*

• https://www.dailymail.co, By ADAM SCHRADER

New York City has been blighted by graffiti leaving some areas of the Big Apple 'looking like war zones' reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s, leading to a barrage of vandalism complaints.

As part of a major clean-up operation announced on Wednesday, NYPD officers will examine graffiti tags for clues about gang activity in the city after the department said it had received over 6,000 complaints in 2020 alone. 

The explosion of graffiti has left parts of New York City looking like it did in the 70s and 80s, before CCTV cameras acted as a deterrent and clean-up initiatives were implemented by mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudi Giuliani.

In a sign that the Big Apple is sliding back to the bad old days, graffiti has been appearing all over the city on storefonts, building exteriors, construction equipment, vehicles, road signs and most visibly on the surrogates court and David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building near City Hall, painted by City Hall protesters.

Now, much like former mayor Bloomberg's initiative which offered people $500 to snitch on taggers, the NYPD wants citizens to report heavily-tagged properties in their neighborhoods.

The tips received by the NYPD will be investigated by local precincts and community leaders who will examine the graffiti for tags made by gangs and prioritize removing those with hateful and offensive messages and symbols.

However, residents and business owners have complained that the initiative comes too little, too late.

'This has been going on too long and I've asked on several occasions what can I use to remove the graffiti from the glass of an establishment in Crown Heights to no avail,' @Dewarrestaurant tweeted after the NYPD's statement.

'The graffiti on the walls and shutters are easy to remove by painting. Nostrand Ave looks like a war zone.' 

New York City has been blighted by graffiti leaving some areas of the Big Apple 'looking like war zones' reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s, leading to a barrage of vandalism complaints.

As part of a major clean-up operation announced on Wednesday, NYPD officers will examine graffiti tags for clues about gang activity in the city after the department said it had received over 6,000 complaints in 2020 alone. 

The explosion of graffiti has left parts of New York City looking like it did in the 70s and 80s, before CCTV cameras acted as a deterrent and clean-up initiatives were implemented by mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudi Giuliani.

In a sign that the Big Apple is sliding back to the bad old days, graffiti has been appearing all over the city on storefonts, building exteriors, construction equipment, vehicles, road signs and most visibly on the surrogates court and David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building near City Hall, painted by City Hall protesters.

Now, much like former mayor Bloomberg's initiative which offered people $500 to snitch on taggers, the NYPD wants citizens to report heavily-tagged properties in their neighborhoods.


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