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Hue and cry: Marine Parkers call for stricter penalties after graffiti spate

Hue and cry: Marine Parkers call for stricter penalties after graffiti spate
Photo by Angel Zayas

It paints a bad picture for the neighborhood.

Marine Parkers woke up to a distasteful surprise on March 27 when they found that someone had vandalized private homes, vehicles, and storefronts along Avenue S. And one neighborhood watchdog — who is a coordinator with the volunteer neighborhood watch group New York Safety Patrol — said that in order to quell future vandalism, law enforcers must impose harsher punishments for nogoodniks who illicitly tag city streets.

“There needs to be better punishment,” said Avi Fleischer, whose synagogue on the corner of E. 36th Street and Avenue S was one of the buildings tagged. “Often times they get a slap on the wrist, and then they are out doing it again. If there is a greater penalty, then maybe they won’t do it again.”

Fleischer commended officers from the 63rd Precinct for their neighborhood surveillance and acknowledged how difficult it is to catch a vandal in the act. But it’s the prosecutors who need to hand down stricter punishments — something more than spending the night in jail and then walking out with just a fine, he said.

“It’s a pretty minor thing,” he said. “You get arrested for it, and they hold you overnight. They let you off with a ticket.”

Victims’ reactions to the vandalism were mixed.

It appears to be an isolated incident, and a little spray paint isn’t the end of the world, one local said.

“I was surprised, but thank goodness nothing worse than just a little graffiti,” said Mitch Kaufman of Marine Park Family Vision, whose business was hit and who said he hasn’t seen much graffiti in the neighborhood.

But a longtime resident who was also targeted thinks the tags indicate a larger slide toward chaos.

“The area is getting kind of crazy,” said Avenue S resident Marie, who declined to give her last name. “I’ve been living here since I was four years old. I’m 43 now, and never heard all of this. It’s so disgusting.”

Locals lodged 183 complaints to the city for graffiti in Community Board 18, which includes Marine Park, between April 1, 2015 and press time — compared to 135 between April 1, 2014 through April 1, 2015, city records show.

The New York Safety Patrol is working with the 63rd Precinct to catch the individuals involved, and anyone with information about the recent vandalism should contact the New York Safety Patrol at (877) SAFER–NY, Fleischer said.

Reach reporter Julianne Cuba at (718) 260–4577 or by e-mail at jcuba@cnglocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @julcuba.