Archive Last Updated:12/1/2014
What Graffiti Vandals Did To The Lennon Wall Mural
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Detroit Police call 5 charged with spraying
graffiti 'serial vandals'
Detroit — Police Chief James Craig is using the recent arrest of five men charged with spraying graffiti on area buildings to send a message to taggers: Don’t do it here.
The suspects were arrested on Aug. 14 just after 3 p.m. when police responded to a complaint of men spray-painting the abandoned Murdock’s Tire Doctor at the corner of Livernois and Burlingame. Each man now faces a felony charge of malicious destruction of property over $1,000. A sixth suspect is being sought.
Craig noted Monday that three of the five suspects are not Detroit residents. If people are not willing to do the crime in their own back yard, he said, they shouldn’t view Detroit as the place to do it.
“If you do it here in Detroit, you will be arrested and you will be prosecuted,” Craig said Monday.
Police described the group as a “graffiti gang” whose work can be seen around the city. The suspects are:
■Juan Meza, 20, of Romulus.
■Ramon Curiel, 20, of Detroit.
■Jon Michael Hernandez, 20, of Lincoln Park.
■Cristian Aguinaga, 19, of Detroit.
■Rickey Steciak, 21, of Southgate.
Neighborhood Police Officer Roberto Berry was the first to respond to the call, and he witnessed three men spray-painting the building on his arrival. After realizing police were on the scene, the trio fled across Livernois and attempted to leave the scene in a blue 2000 Pontiac Montana minivan, but were stopped soon after and taken into custody, according to police.
The supervisor making the traffic stop also noticed three more individuals spray-painting the other side of the building. Those three attempted to escape on foot into the surrounding neighborhood. Local residents informed police that three men escaped into the neighborhood and two were eventually taken into custody.
“These are serial vandals,” said Detroit Police Sergeant Rebecca McKay. “They are known in the city. This is not their first stint.”
Numbers Say Public Opinion Turning Against Graffiti Vandalism
It looks like harsher penalties and more
attempts to catch and prosecute individuals and groups responsible for graffiti
vandalism in Detroit. E mail us what you
think click here.
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Click here to link to official "sochockey" blog!
Female Graffiti Vandals Garner A Reputation In 2014
Surveillance of three vandals.
Surveillance cameras captured three young, female graffiti vandals painting on the side of the 1001 Woodward building, and owner Dan Gilbert is urging employees, security and police to help track down the “fancy ladies.”
“Unfortunately, once in a great while, degenerates who don’t ‘get it’ crawl out of their deep dark holes and try to ruin it for the rest of us who take pride in and deeply care about our city,” Gilbert wrote in a letter that included surveillance images of the three women.
Police are investigating.
The women were spotted spray-painting “Izzy,” “bitch,” “fuck,” and “Welcome to Detroit” on the alley side of the building.
Graffiti has become ubiquitous in Detroit, scrawled on road signs, cars, houses, historic buildings, churches, parking meters and trees.
Gilbert offered a reward for the capture of the vandals.
“I am personally offering a reward to cover the ‘entire cost to paint your home’ (or apartment) the next time you need a fresh coat either on the inside or outside (or both) for any information that you provide that leads to the apprehension and arrest of these three fine ‘ladies,’” Gilbert wrote.
____________________________________________________Some Flint, Michigan Volunteers-VS- Graffiti
City officials in Flint, Michigan are seeking to paint and remove graffiti from buildings and other structures. The effort is part of Graffiti Free Day. Volunteers are asked to meet where they will be divided into groups and assigned to specific areas. A brief training on removing graffiti will be given. Paint and other supplies will be provided, but volunteers should wear old work clothing and bring cotton gloves.
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Will Detroit Police Task Force On Graffiti Make A Difference?
DETROIT (WXYZ) - Graffiti artists have turned much of Detroit into their canvas, tagging everything from street signs to buildings. Now, there is an effort underway to curb their illegal ways.
Steve Rotenberg operates Motown Foods in Detroit's Eastern Market, a popular backdrop for graffiti artists.
He has given up on trying to fight the vandalism. "I was asked to pay out of pocket, and it's quite expensive," said Rotenberg.
Soon, the taggers took over. That is, until an artist from Spain offered his talents for free and left a masterpiece behind. "It's a respect issue," said Rotenberg. "No one goes over it and this is really pretty art."
Most graffiti isn't so pretty to look at. Much of it is a rude form of art with a negative image attached.
"Graffiti is one of those quality of life issues," said Detroit Police Chief James Craig. "It gives the impression the city is unsafe and if we don't do anything with graffiti, it just brings about other criminal behavior."
Chief Craig and city leaders are working together to form a task force to target the taggers.
"I'm excited to work with the Mayor on this because it will change Detroit and how Detroit looks," said Chief Craig.
Details of the task force are still being worked out but it's expected to be in place in the near future.
Copyright 2014 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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____________________________________________________Are There Women Leaders In Graffiti Vandalism? Women are taking a less aggressive role in committing acts of graffiti vandalism against property than men. Graffiti Vandalism Removal Awards 2012-2013 ____________________________________________________ Click here! To nominate a person or company for the “Graffiti Vandalism Removal Awards” to be issued in 2014. ____________________________________________________ 2013: Tower Automotive 1544 Gratiot Ave. 2013:
Jim Ferns
Motorcity Auto Transport Co.
Cass Ave @ Fisher Fwy
____________________________________________________ Click here! To nominate a person or company for the “Graffiti Vandalism Removal Awards” to be issued in 2014. ____________________________________________________
2012:
Wojchik Family
Former owners of property at
14471 Livernois Ave.
2012:
KTM Group LLC
7519 Intervale St.
We Have Temporarily Stopped Offering Rewards For Tips On Graffiti Vandals
We are convinced that if the police desired to stop or slow graffiti vandalism they could have identified and developed case making evidence as we were able to do. (effective 11/1/2013)
Character Assassination In Graffiti Increasing
 6 Suggestions Given For Reducing Graffiti Vandalism
(1) Make it a felony to deface Public Safety Signs.
(2) Rapid Removal Of Graffiti paint over teams.
(3) Create a Purchased Paint Accountability ordinance.
(4) A curfew on Transporting Paint.
(5) Require ID to purchase paint.
(6) Create a single National Policy on unauthorized signage in public sight.
 
August 28, 2013
The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday lifted a decade-long ban on public murals, marking a decisive victory for artists who argued the law made no sense in a city with such a rich tradition of street art.
The decision culminates years of debate over how Los Angeles should regulate murals, which have chronicled generations of the city's history, from the mid-20th century struggles of Latinos on the Eastside to freeway displays celebrating the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
The 13-2 vote is expected to free a new generation of muralists to "reclaim our legacy as a mural capital of the world,'' said Isabel Rojas-Williams, executive director of the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles.
New rules will seek a balance between clashing interests: reviving the city's muralist tradition; protecting neighborhoods from unwanted intrusions of large, sometimes controversial artworks; and controlling a proliferation of advertising in the guise of art.
It was the latter objective that led to the ban a decade ago. Advertisers sued the city on 1st Amendment grounds, arguing that muralists could create big, eye-catching displays that were banned for commercial enterprises. Officials opted to prohibit all new murals.
In the years since, weak and arbitrary application of the ban created inconsistencies and obstacles to new works, officials and art activists said. "It's been a long 10 years,'' said Nyla Arslanian, president of the Hollywood Arts Council. "We have in Hollywood some of the most beloved and internationally known murals. And it's about time that we have more."
Not all murals were halted — or treated equally — in what artists call the "dark ages" of the ban. Studio City Hand Car Wash owner Ben Forat received positive feedback — and no real City Hall hassle — when he put up a 75-foot-long painting on his business depicting the community's landmarks.
The same was true for downtown artist Robert Vargas, who painted a stylized portrait of a mariachi in Boyle Heights, and young Pacoima muralist Levi Ponce's efforts to fill his community's walls with colorful works.
But when pop star Chris Brown put up eight-foot-high fanged creatures on a retaining wall at his Hollywood Hills home, neighbors deluged City Hall with complaints, the singer was cited and within weeks the cartoonish scene was obliterated.
The new rules, which must come back for an expected final approval next week, will permit new murals in business and industrial zones as long as artists register projects with the city and pay a $60 application fee. Commercial messages are prohibited and works must remain for at least two years as part of the city effort to control advertising.
Residential areas will be allowed to "opt in" to the mural program by petitioning the city. Once approved, those neighborhoods could see artworks on walls and homes. Councilman Jose Huizar, who sponsored the new regulations, initially hoped to permit murals in all areas of the city and allow individual single-family neighborhoods to "opt out" by a petition process.
But that approach failed to win support from representatives of suburban communities.
"It's difficult to strike a balance," said Councilman Mike Bonin, who represents Venice, Westchester and Pacific Palisades. "We're a city of murals, but we're first and foremost a city of neighborhoods." Huizar and Bonin supported the final compromise.
Councilmen Paul Koretz and Bob Blumenfield voted against the measure, saying neighborhoods that don't want murals would not have enough say in where they go.
Koretz, who represents parts of the Westside and parts of the San Fernando Valley, said his constituents have told him they don't support the mural ordinance. In addition to aesthetic concerns about the murals, residents worry that they will attract graffiti and become "God-awful eyesores,'' he said.
Blumenfield said he support murals, but said that the new rules won't give residents enough say in the kinds of images that will be allowed to appear in their communities. He said some residents fear that "a giant, very inappropriate picture" could go up that will scare their children — a comment that drew boos from supporters of ending the mural ban.
"I'm not saying it's a rational fear,'' Blumenfield told the audience in the council chamber. "But you can't dismiss them as not important because people have these fears."
Several artists argued for unfettered access to residential areas. Muralist Kent Twitchell, whose iconic 1971 painting of the late movie idol Steve McQueen is on a two-story house west of downtown, said he was disappointed with the general exclusion of single-family homes.
"They lifted the moratorium, which is a good thing,'' he said after the vote. "But they've made it illegal for people to decorate their homes as they have for decades."
He said there were no mural regulations when he painted the McQueen piece. "We were a free country then,'' he said.
Murals exploded in Los Angeles in the 1970s as artists took to walls to express concerns about political and social issues, including nuclear energy, student uprisings, political upheaval in Mexico and Chile and the civil rights struggle at home.
"It was this instantaneous culture that happened in Los Angeles,'' Rojas-Williams said. "And it all happened at the same time without the artists knowing each other until later on."
The Mural Conservancy was launched in 1987 to protect murals and artists' rights. In recent months, it has used fundraising and grants to uncover murals created for the 1984 Olympics.
"Murals are part and parcel of the social and cultural and historic fabric of the city,'' said Councilman Gil Cedillo, who represents mural-rich areas of the Eastside. "We should recognize that."
Carlos Chavez was among the artists who told the council that they are eager to create murals. He recently moved to Los Angeles and studied fine art at Cal State L.A. so he could do exactly that, Chavez said.
"I want to be part of the art scene here," he said. "Let art flourish."
Click here to give feedback! Use Of Profanity In Graffiti Vandalism Increasing In Detroit
The use of profanity is increasing and likely to get worse due to the slow removal of graffiti. The locations of Detroit's extreme graffiti vandals is making some removal unsafe and unlikely as it relates to structures that should be demolished.
Who Vandalized This Wall Near Division St.?
What Did You Learn From Unwanted Graffiti?
We've learned that the creative class can be just as obnoxiously pushy as others. Tell them all to stop feeling free to express their personal values as an answer on the basis of being relevant, right or correct.  Click here to go to the Organizing Machine blog!  
Shame or Fame?
 
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| While there are valid points made on each end of the question, two constants remain: graffiti is unlawful and its removal is an expensive process. Removing graffiti requires more man hours, equipment and materials than simply removing a sign or banner from an overpass fence. In 2012, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Metro Region spent more than $500,000 on graffiti removal. More than $150,000 was spent alone on I-94 in the city of Detroit. For what it costs to remove graffiti from Metro Detroit freeways, crews could resurface more than 6 miles on one lane of an asphalt roadway. Graffiti "artists" work under the cloak of darkness, making them difficult to apprehend. And as you can see, these personal expressions are not only costly but incredibly dangerous. Taggers navigate their way onto bridge beams, climb large truss signs over live traffic, or scale down steep slopes to spray a name or a symbol. And while most tagging is non-offensive in nature, it's still unlawful. Besides, in order for crews to safely remove graffiti, lanes of traffic must be closed - hindering commerce and requiring unnecessary delays for the motoring public. Crews who work to remove graffiti from freeways are often disappointed when taggers return hours later to re-tag the same location. So we ask that if you see taggers spraying graffiti on bridges and overpasses that you alert authorities. It's no secret that funding is already tight, and we can all agree that any available money should be going to making structures safe, not removing graffiti. What do you think? E-mail us at morosi@michigan.gov. Rob Morosi MDOT Metro Region Communications Specialist |
Who's Defacing Public Safety Signs?
This sign is on Gratiot Ave. near Mt Elliott Ave.
Claim Check Public Tags & Graffiti Images Ownership
We encourage the general public to photograph and register for ownership of the public tags & graffiti art placed through vandalism. We have partnered with various entities to convert unwanted public displays in to funds for having them covered or removed. This consortium will represent individuals that have state registered an insignia that emanated from graffiti and tagging vandalism. Our goal is to gain intellectual property rights to create enough profit to reimburse the cost of removal.
Graffiti Vandalism & The Heidelberg Project Of Detroit
In the city of Detroit we have long had tagging personal names in wet concrete, even name carving in wood. There was only a minimal amount of retaliatory spray painting. But when we talk about the graffiti that has been making itself visible for the last few years in Detroit that’s another story. The public displays of graffiti vandalism of now is different. This forced on the public graffiti of colorful and overly-stated mostly nonsensical renderings is criminal and intimidating. The recent renderings remind me of when the Heidelberg project was first reported on. This current style of graffiti has been strongly influenced and formatted by the style of the Heidelberg project of Detroit. The Heidelberg project was made popular as an artist expressed himself through the commandeering of public space and other peoples property for staging his over-stated yet “artistic” expression.
7 Fast Stats About Exterior Graffiti Vandalism
(1)The cost of surface damage done by graffiti vandals raises the cost of exterior repair and maintenance by an average of 200%.
(2)Signs of graffiti vandalism ignite the fear of loss control by authorities and introduces an evidenced threat to personal property.
(3)The majority of graffiti vandals carry their paints in back-packs and under over-sized clothes.
(4)The most popular alibi used by graffiti vandals when caught with multiple cans of spray paint is that they found them and that they have not been used by them.
(5)From information we could obtain the youngest graffiti vandal caught was 9 and the oldest was 45.
(6)The majority of serial graffiti vandals have an accomplice.
(7) The most cited cause of proliferation in graffiti vandalism is lack of arrest and punishment.
We Started Paying Cash For Pictures Of Graffiti Vandals In Action
We Identified Graffiti Vandals By Their Tag
Who Defaced This Mail Box On Cass St. Just N. Of Fisher Freeway
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