Graffiti only getting worse in Glendale

From the Queens Ledger:

Turn onto 88th Street off Union Turnpike in Glendale and head towards Cooper Avenue and the Shops at Atlas Park; the first few blocks are pleasant and well kept, but they quickly give way to a stretch of graffiti-covered buildings that have caused residents trouble for years, no matter what they try to do to fix the problem.

Clean up 88th Street, says Tom Pappas, who lives in the area, and that could be the key to a safer neighborhood and higher property values. It might even help bring much-needed foot traffic to Atlas Park - the road is an important local route to the out-of-the-way mall, which has struggled to gain traction with area shoppers.

The front of Albert and Harold’s auto service store on 88th Street, diagonally opposite P.S. 113’s new annex, is covered in tags. So is the next building, a long, squat structure belonging to the Long Island Tinsmith Supply Company.

Farther north, recurring graffiti on a building owned by the entity Cosmetic Components was the subject of a letter written by Congressman Anthony Weiner in October of 2008. In his letter Rep. Weiner asked the building’s owner to put up lighting to discourage would-be taggers.

More than a year later, there are no new lights, just more graffiti.

In an August 2009 letter to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, Pappas even suggested redistricting the 104th and 112th precincts to give the latter control of eastern Glendale.

Less than one month latter, Pappas received a reply from the 104th’s Deputy Inspector, Keith Green.

Green wrote that the precinct is committed to improving the quality of life for its residents. “All the police officers of the 104th Precinct,” wrote Green, “are constantly attempting to identify and apprehend graffiti vandals.”