Strauss seeks aid in graffiti battle

Richard Tedesco

Graffiti may be pop art to some, but at last Wednesday night’s Mineola Village Board meeting Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss said it’s a persistent problem in one area of the village.

The graffiti in the form of stylized “tags” has been spray painted on buildings on Hinck Way along the Long Island Rail Road line through Mineola and other buildings in the village, Strauss said. 

Strauss said business owners’ continuing efforts to deal with the graffiti by painting over walls that have been defaced is a frustrating process.

“Every time a business owner paints a building, we’re just giving them a clear canvas,” Strauss said in response to a question raised by village resident Nancy DeSorba at the meeting.

In one case, he said, a business owner was issued a summons to paint over the graffiti with a negligible result.

“It didn’t last. Two days later, the graffiti was there again,” Strauss said. “We can repaint them every day. Until we get cooperation from the Nassau County Police Department, it’s going to continue to happen.”

Strauss said he has consulted with problem-oriented police officers at the Nassau County Police 3rd Precinct who deal with problems such as graffiti. 

When DeSorba offered to give him copies of three “tags” she’d written down, Strauss said Inspector Sean McCarthy, the 3rd Precinct commanding officer, is already familiar with the names. He said the 3rd Precinct has contacted local school districts to try to determine the identities of the teenagers presumed to be doing the unwelcome artwork.

“We’re doing the best we can,” he said.

Strauss said the graffiti is being painted on the buildings at night when no one can see the people doing the painting.

DeSorba suggested putting surveillance cameras in the areas where the graffiti is being applied, but Strauss said the cameras would be a costly response unlikely to produce useful results.

“Unless you have high-end cameras, you’re just not going to see anything. You’ll see someone in a hoodie spray painting a building,” he said.

DeSorba said the village should oblige the building owners to keep painting over the graffiti every week if necessary. 

But Strauss said repainting is an expensive solution that won’t ultimately resolve the problem.

“The problem isn’t the businesses. It’s the kids,” Strauss said.

Village Trustee Dennis Walsh said one delicatessen owner had to grind down the brick on the exterior of his building to erase the graffiti. Walsh said that’s the only remedy when spray paint is applied to a porous brick surface.

“It’s not easy to eliminate it,” Walsh said.

Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.

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