https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9324087/NYPD-wants-publics-help-identifying-graffiti-city-launches-bid-paint-vandalism.htmlReturn of the taggers: New York is blighted with graffiti leaving areas 'looking like war zones' in echo of the 1980s as NYPD begins massive clean-up following 6,000 complaintsBy ADAM SCHRADER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE and ARIEL ZILBER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
4 March 2021
New York City has been blighted by graffiti leaving some areas of the Big Apple 'looking like war zones' reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s, leading to a barrage of vandalism complaints.
As part of a major clean-up operation announced on Wednesday, NYPD officers will examine graffiti tags for clues about gang activity in the city after the department said it had received over 6,000 complaints in 2020 alone.
The explosion of graffiti has left parts of New York City looking like it did in the 70s and 80s, before CCTV cameras acted as a deterrent and clean-up initiatives were implemented by mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudi Giuliani.
In a sign that the Big Apple is sliding back to the bad old days, graffiti has been appearing all over the city on storefonts, building exteriors, construction equipment, vehicles, road signs and most visibly on the surrogates court and David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building near City Hall, painted by City Hall protesters.
Now, much like former mayor Bloomberg's initiative which offered people $500 to snitch on taggers, the NYPD wants citizens to report heavily-tagged properties in their neighborhoods.
The tips received by the NYPD will be investigated by local precincts and community leaders who will examine the graffiti for tags made by gangs and prioritize removing those with hateful and offensive messages and symbols.
More at URL above (with lots of pics)...
