Monday, January 23, 2012
Graffiti victim has the perps on tape
From the Times Ledger:
A Whitestone business owner has surveillance footage of two graffiti vandals damaging his property, but instead of calling police he is hoping the young men turn themselves in — or someone does it for them.
Anthony Cammarata, whose family runs a Venezia Tile store, has footage of two young men spray painting his truck, the outer wall of his business and the security gate of a neighboring business at around 4:40 a.m. New Year’s Day. He is offering $100 to anyone who can bring in the vandals responsible and make them clean off the paint.
“These guys forgot to look up,” he said, referring to the multiple security cameras he installed on the top of his building.
“Eventually we will go to the police, but we are giving them a chance to make this right,” Cammarata said. “I just want them to come clean this up and hopefully learn not to damage someone else’s property.”
The family tile business has operated in Whitestone since 1990. And since Cammarata grew up and now works in the neighborhood, he has made a lot of friends and knows a lot of the neighborhood kids.
“I know all the kids around here,” he said. “I will find them. It’s just a matter of time.”
19 comments:
“Eventually we will go to the police"...And they will do...nothing.
I know this sort of thing is a costly P-I-A but it doesn't really matter in the scheme of things and as a business owner myself, I've come to realize that the best response is effective lighting, obvious cameras and -warning signs-.
You may still get occasionally stung, but you are in a city and this isn't that important.
"the best response is effective lighting, obvious cameras and -warning signs-"
What is the point of having these things if you say the police will do nothing? Don't you think the perps would know that the police will do nothing and not care if they were filmed? Your comment makes no sense.
Tracking down graffiti vandals is one thing the NYPD does very well. To say "this is a city and this isn't that important" is quite an ignorant statement. Graffiti is not only a quality of life crime that affects property values, but it also can be the sign of a gang problem. That's why rewards are offered by the NYPD and there's a Citywide Vandals Task Force.
The NYPD anti graffiti squad has made hundreds of arrests and the city has gone to the perps and their families for reimbursement of cleaning up graffiti. It is a nationally cited and commended program that seems to work for the most part.
Q-C, while I'll agree on the points concerning graffiti affecting property values and sometimes being a gang marker (something the cops often deny exists) The most effective way to reduce it is via the methods I mentioned.
We have 26 locations. Nearly all have been tagged at one time or another. Where I live here in Manhattan all the Public School yards were covered with it during the 70's and 80's.
The cops did nothing.
Finally the BoE implemented a program of immediate removal and installed wrought iron fencing along with new lighting. Near-zero problem for the last 20 years. DArk delivery/service entrances nearby:Tagged -even today.
I live right near Bloombag and there IS graffiti -on doors, old style rolldown gates anywhere there is inadequate lighting and surveillance.
Look, the cops eat in some of our locations, I've asked about this after we had a real bombing at one place in Brooklyn. He just said remove it pronto and "add more light".
The poster indicated he is using effective lighting, obvious cameras and -warning signs. That's where he stops because thereafter contacting the police involves his being away from his/her business, going to court etc all with uncertain outcomes or worse retribution.
There mere fact these techniques are used are for preventive purposes. In some cases the cameras are not recording anyhow.
If the NYPD "vandal squad" (which does their job well) won't handle it,
then maybe Tony C will turn it over to the local Gambino representative
Maybe the graff-vandal will opt for turning himself into the cops rather than face Don Vito's "justice"!
Your bullshit about retribution, being away from business, etc doesn't fly. Every precinct has a graffiti officer. You find out who yours is and contact him directly. He comes and takes photos and enters them into a database. When the perp that uses that tag is caught, he is usually charged with multiple counts of graffiti for every tag he has made. It won't even involve your testimony most of the time. People shrugging their shoulders when this happens is the problem. These vandals love to brag about their actions and show it off online and its easier to catch them today than it was in the 1970s.
Some punk recently spray painted my neighbors brick wall in front of his house.
I advised him to call the police and make a report.
Doesn't the city remove it for free(power washing in this case)
after you fill out a form online?
"Doesn't the city remove it for free(power washing in this case)
after you fill out a form online?"
Not on residential property, only commerical. Talk to the tough prosecutors at DA Brown's second chance program.
Why are you always bashing the pollice. Leave them alone. They are too busy checking expired inspection and auto registrations.
Who is writing this thread - a spin doctor for Mr. Anti-graffiti Vallone?
Its so bad in Queens that a local paper actually has a regular column on it - there are tags out there so old that Mother Nature (rather than the police) seems to remove the vast majority.
A good portion of it would be gone if the city got after absentee landlords and property speculators but that ain't gonna happen any time soon.
Graffiti Free NYC provides cleaning of graffiti on the first floor of all private property whether commercial or residential. The property owners consent is not required.
Graffiti Free NYC
Hey maybe the self proclaimed only civic busniness leader in all of whitestone along with the self proclaimed greatest councilman district 19 has ever had can use some more taxpayer money to clean it up for him
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Let's ask ourselves, what are the root causes of graffiti? Is the store owner the only victim here?
Whitestone has too many of these MFs spray painting residential fences, cars and trucks - PLEASE arrest these jackazzes and make them and their parents pay for the damages.
I realize that the owner is trying to coax them to come forward. If they do not fess up - please freeze the frame and post so we can see the face of the idiot(s). The pic can also be posted in the local papers like the Whitestone Times -
If the cops can't do anything about it, then let the idiot's next TAG be on a nice fat check made out to the tile company! The owner certainly can sue for damages to his property.
GOOD LUCK!!!
It's the local goombah's sons in Whitestone that are doing the spraying!
These vandals ALWAYS live where they spray...so they can show off their tags to their girlfriends.
Maybe their mob dads and moms should check out what their "darling" sons are into.
Then the police won't be so overburdened with the jobs that parents should be doing.
I know if my kid went out on a graffiti mission and I caught him, red, blue or green handed, he'd get the strap across his ass 'til it burned!
It's ALWAYS somebody else's kids committing these crimes isn't it, you absentee parents?
call 311 or the cw vandal tf..........
Any arrests yet? Call Counclman Halloran, he'll paint it for free, like he did for the Millionare absentee landlord on 154th Street across the street from his friend's new restaurant.
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