Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Grand Army Plaza Arch Gets Giant 'Bird God' Graffiti Tag
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 30, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
AAden Stern
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 30, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A man was arrested on Sunday after he took advantage of an unmanned cherry picker and tagged the Grand Army Plaza arch with the words, "Bird God."
Police say the incident happened around noon yesterday, when Denis Shelagin, 36, took charge of the cherry picker, which was there because it was being used during the week for the Hanukkah menorah lighting ceremony. NYPD officers surrounded Shelagin and tried to get him to come down, but he was able to finish his tag before he was taken into custody. (He also reportedly couldn't figure out how to lower the cherry picker.)
Shelagin, who is from Washington, has been charged with making graffiti, criminal mischief and possession of graffiti instruments. Workers later tried to cover the graffiti with a giant blue tarp before Mayor de Blasio arrived for the lighting ceremony for the final night of Hanukkah.
"I'd give the hand style five out of ten stars," said Gothamist's resident graffiti expert Jake Dobkin. "He went to some effort on the serif lettering, and did manage to center the piece pretty well, which couldn't have been easy on a stolen cherry picker. But the fill isn't good and the individual letters aren't consistent." It's unclear whether "Bird God" was a specific reference or Shelagin's personal tag.
The Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch, which was completed in 1892, is dedicated "To the Defenders of the Union, 1861–1865." As one local who was particularly mad about the tag wrote, "What an asshole. Street art is cool but defacing historic monuments that are important to a community is a pretty massive fuck you to your neighborhood. And if he’s not even from Brooklyn that’s even worse."
So, long, Bird God: The graffiti was power washed from the monument this morning.
Tagged
grand army plaza
brooklyn
bird god
prospect park
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Published Oct 8, 2026
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.
By
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.
By
James Ramsay
What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.
By
Jayson Greene
Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City
By
Sonia Rao
Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries
By
Alec Hamilton
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .