Thursday, February 7, 2008

Vallone vs. energy drink

Council Member Says Caffeinated Drink Glorifies Graffiti
Special to the Sun

Council Member Peter Vallone is decrying a new energy drink that he says promotes vandalism. All City NRG, a caffeinated beverage put out by the New York-based AriZona Beverage Co., features graffiti-influenced art on its can and in promotional material. "This product shamelessly glorifies a culture of vandalism and lawlessness," Mr. Vallone said yesterday. "If this drink was called 'pickpocket pickup,' and had pictures of criminals lifting wallets, wouldn't people be offended?"

A spokeswoman for AriZona, Francie Patton, described graffiti as "a worldwide type of art form" and said the can's design is not intended to encourage vandalism.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pistol Pete Don "Junior " Vallone
will stir up anything to divert attention
from the lousy job he and his scurvy family are doing!

Here he is again on his favorite "toot".... graffiti.

Can't wait to see some big ass "vandal"
intaglio "tag" his ass some day in a dark alley
in Astoria with the words "PHONY VALLONEY"!

Anonymous said...

All City NRG, a caffeinated beverage put out by the New York-based AriZona Beverage Co., features graffiti-influenced art on its can and in promotional material.

Vallone should drink the product and get energized to take on real issues like organizing his community and coordinating with the NYPD to eliminate the problem. Get at the root cause - youngsters whom have nothing to do but vadalize property. Create some green spaces instead of promoting overdevelopment.

Anonymous said...

What Vallone doesn't understand is that by giving the vandal space on the Arizona can, it is keeping him off the streets.

Give a graffiti artist a canvas on which to spray, pay him, and he will be less likely ot vandalize property.

Anonymous said...

Peter Vallone is an absolute moron. It is a beverage. Stop wasteing your time bashing a energy drink and focus on some real issues. You are a shmuck Vallone. fiz some pot holes or something

Anonymous said...

Why this sudden torrent of Vallone bashing by the board?

What will you all say when he wants to downzone his community and reaches out the the president of Historic Districts Council to do it (for lets say $70,000)?

Then he will be a swell fellow?

Anonymous said...

Did that cowardly anonymous last poster
have some particular name in mind?

Then NAME HIM and sign your post.

Some people out there love to TALK a good game
but when it comes to actually DOING something,
they've got a "game" leg and can't do
THE WALK !

We Light Up Queens said...

With all the issues in Queens, it is a shame that this is even an issue. Is graffiti an issue? yeah I would say so, does this can have anything to do with it? I doubt it, "tags" will always be found and the people doing such will be unaffected by this can. The cans potential to turn people on to Graffiti perhaps is a valid argument however the same influence can be true of existing graffiti. Vallone should spend more time cleaning graffiti up if anything.

Anonymous said...

Is this man serious? Does he have nothing better to do than speak out about soda cans? What a jerkoff. I'm embarrassed that he's a Council Member. Where can I find his address so i can write him a letter to him asking him to focus on real issues? Actually, anyone who reads this should write him a letter. Bombard him with notes that let him know we're on to his stupidity and to get behind real issues. What a moron.

Anonymous said...

Grafitti can be stopped tomorrow if you go after the building owners. The big explosion in places like Astoria has come from a big jump in absentee landlords.

Its also on a lot of the new human warehouses (that suspiciously take months and months to build)

You get a ticket for a dirty sidewalk, not shoveling snow.

But, we don't want to come down too hard on the building industry.

So we give people the impression that something is happening with attention grabbing headelines (that signify nothing)

Anonymous said...

Then NAME HIM and sign your post.

----

Oh, well, sorry. I learned a lot about sneaking around by contract with the preservation community. You know, talk to developers on the QT, make decisions on what to save on the QT, or give a tour to the LPC on the QT.

Lcal riff-raff need not get involved. Sort of reminds me of the 4 borros and St Saviours.

As a matter of fact, I am still bit of a novice in that matter.

For example, is there anyting you would like to tell us about Sohmer?

Anonymous said...

A couple of months ago, made news by proposing a bill to limit the amount of homework teachers can give. This man has too much time on his hands. Can someone find him a job?

Anonymous said...

What will you all say when he wants to downzone his community and reaches out the the president of Historic Districts Council to do it (for lets say $70,000)?

Then he will be a swell fellow?

I respond that it is too little and mostly too late. The architectual character of Astoria has been forever changed. It's not about reaching out t0 the president of Historic Districts Council - future tense - it's about why has he not already done so already - past - present tense?

He is not alone among his peers elsewhere, but Vallone has proclivity to to put out press releases on topics such as a lousy soda can art to grab attention for himself. He lashing out at something that won't move the needle on the true issue at hand; his distric has a wildfire spreading grafiti problem and getting much worse.

It's no worse than those of us whom are responding to these silly proclaimations. We voice our opinion about his effectiveness as an elected office holder whom has power, resources and a constituency base. If we are his constituency or in adjacent districts of his peers - we wish for all of Queens elected officals to get on board real issues such as developing programs with real effectivness in combating the many scourges that are ruining our quality of life, getting Queens to receive equal attention of support and care that Manhattan generates for itself. There is no Political leadership or guts on the council to band together on behalf of the 4 outcast bourough's needs. Do the math 4 x 1. That's why we hold all office holder's feet to the fire - to get it done as the Pols promised to get elected and then ignore us.

Anonymous said...

"Oh, well, sorry. I learned a lot...."
anonymous:

I might be inclined to name your
"historic preservation society"
which begins with the letter.... h-m-m-m.....(?)
who RARELY, no make that NEVER
supported St. Saviour's
in any written statement that I've ever seen!

Wadda ya got to say about that ole fella ?

Anonymous said...

I respond that it is too little and mostly too late. The architectual character of Astoria has been forever changed.
----------

You just don't get it. The days of 'experts' going into a community and making pronoucements are over.

That fact of the matter is Old Astoria still has more orginal fabric than the Village.

I did a walking tour of the Village for the first time in 15 years and is shocked at how little of the original fabric remains.