By Sophia Chang
Everything is in place, except for the graffiti scrawled on one wall next to a nail salon, large white letters covering the red brick side of the center.”We all the time clean, but the next day it's up again,” said salon manager Grace, who declined to give her last name.It can be hard to fight graffiti if it seems like it will always be there and if no one treats it as a crime. So to combat the perception that vandalism is impossible to erase or prevent, the Bayside nail salon has joined several other local businesses and homeowners in the 111th Precinct's battle against graffiti in the area, agreeing to report instances of graffiti to the police in exchange for cleanups. “Some people get very frustrated. But there's one guy, they never tag him anymore because they know he will paint it over,” said Lt. Dan Heffernan of the 111th Precinct. “The whole idea is that they want their tag to stay up there.”Heffernan and Officer Elizabeth Fortunato spent a recent afternoon combing the 111th Precinct's streets for signs of new graffiti and vandals and enlisting business owners for the clean- up program as part of the New York Police Department's ongoing Anti-Graffiti Strategy.One aspect of the program focuses on eliminating existing graffiti because it can encourage and incite other graffitists to paint in a neighborhood.”If you don't maintain a neighborhood, it sends out a subliminal message that things are out of control here,” Heffernan said while he and Fortunato slowly drove through Bayside, stopping to note fresh graffiti along Bell Boulevard.Earlier this year, the city launched a tough anti-graffiti program that drew on the combined forces of the mayor's office, the newly created Citywide Vandals Taskforce as well as other municipal agencies such as the borough president's office and the Department of Transportation. Tipsters who call 911 for graffiti in progress or 311 to provide information may be rewarded with up to $500.”It's a three-pronged effort: enforcement, eradication and education,” Heffernan said, and noted that information provided by people can lead directly to arrests.”We have one guy who's led to two arrests on Union Turnpike,” he said. “He noticed two guys climbing up onto the roof and called it in.”Although the city may be cracking down on graffiti, the 111th Precinct, which covers Bayside, Little Neck, Bayside Hills and parts of Flushing and Auburndale, is one of the less vandalized areas. The precinct registers about 20 complaints each week about graffiti on public and private property, with prime targets lying along the Horace Harding Expressway and near local schools.”In the '70s, graffiti was way out of control. But I think the 111th is lucky, relatively speaking,” Heffernan said. “It doesn't look that bad driving up and down main roads here.”Despite the relatively low incidence, police say that they need the community's cooperation regardless. “It's very hard to make a case against graffiti unless you catch them in the act,” he said. Heffernan said he had seen a video once of two graffitists spraying a wall on a busy street in plain sight of about 30 motorists as well as a Department of Sanitation truck. “That's the kind of apathy that we're trying to fight,” he said.In addition, the local police are seeking more involvement from community groups to pitch in on repainting vandalized locations. “We could use more help from the civic organizations,” Heffernan said. “Everybody complains about graffiti, but no one picks up a paintbrush.”To join the Police Department's Graffiti Removal Program, call 311.Reach reporter Sophia Chang by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
