Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Law & Graffiti Order
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 5, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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 .
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 5, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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
The NY Times looks at the "cat and mouse game" between the graffiti artists and the police. There are a couple factions: Those who fly under the radar to tag illegally, the taggers who go "legit" and take commercial commissions, and the police who try to stop the illegal taggers. The Mayor upped the ante by forming the anti-graffiti crime unit (the Mayor's Anti-Graffiti Task Force) earlier this year, and one graffiti writer, Ray (tag: PRIZ), told the Times, "When the 'goon squad' first started cracking down, a lot of people went out there with the attitude, 'We're going to get over tonight.' So of course, they got caught." The police are keeping tabs on graffiti websites, even as the taggers "map out targets and plot escape routes...go out exclusively at night, favoring rooftops and boarded-up buildings that aren't likely to be painted over quickly, if at all." While the NYPD says it's one of the most expansive anti-graffiti programs in the country, we doubt graffiti (or street art, for that matter) can be held down, as it's a natural response to life that's been around for thousands of years. For any mayor to successfully rid a city of graffiti, the city would need to be burned down. Anyway, ee can sense City Councilman Peter Vallone's office immediately issuing a press release that's picked up by the Daily News where he blasts the Times for giving the taggers coverage!
Here's the NY Times slideshow of graffiti photographs. @149th is And we interview Carlos "Mare 139" Rodriguez earlier. One tagger arrested by the police in March asked for copies of the NYPD photographs of his work. And some have said legal graffiti is like the Special Olympics - "Everyone gets a prize, and there are no rules," but corporations, like Time Inc. and Hummer, are looking to graffiti for some stret cred.
Photograph by Jake Dobkin
Tagged
art
cat
city
City Councilman
City Councilman Peter Vallone
Councilman Peter Vallone
crime
culture
daily news
graffiti
Graffiti Task Force
interview
jake dobkin
jen chung
mayor
news
News: NYC
ny times
nypd
olympics
people
peter vallone
police
special
special olympics
street art
Task Force
the city
The Mayor
The NY
the ny times
The Police
Time Inc
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch planned to visit the officer in the hospital.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 2, 2026 at 4:23 p.m. ET
DOC negligence factored in death at Rikers' Bellevue hospital outpost, jail officials say
The oversight board’s report documents a deadly pattern of neglect at a facility meant to keep inmates safe.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
News
DOC negligence factored in death at Rikers' Bellevue hospital outpost, jail officials say
The oversight board’s report documents a deadly pattern of neglect at a facility meant to keep inmates safe.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Conductor on NYC subway that dragged man to death may have skipped safety check, source says
By
Stephen Nessen
NYPD still searching for man who threw burning substance on victim in East Harlem
By
Ryan Kost
Intoxication not a 'license' to rape: Hochul pushes to tighten law amid Cornell scandal
By
Walter Wuthmann
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 .