Thea Swanson agrees. An administrative assistant at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan, Swanson moved to Greenpoint earlier this year. There's plenty to behold. From the arabesque scrawls tagging mailboxes, doorways and street signs, to the more elaborate efforts of north-Brooklyn Basquiats, who clearly relish the broad walls of the area's warehouses and factories, graffiti seems to be a fundamental part of what it means to live in Greenpoint. The task force also provides interested communities with free paint and supplies, so they can clean up existing graffiti and stay on top of it when it recurs.
Sentences are tougher, and police are instructed to practice zero-tolerance for offenders.
We put them through the system. Merchants are required to keep such materials in locked cabinets, and sale to individuals under 18 is prohibited. Merchants who fail to adhere to these regulations are subject to stiff fines. In many cases, the results of these combined efforts have been remarkable. Larry Mango, assistant director of the Greenwich Village Alliance, says the combination of local vigilance and city resources has helped to win back his south-Manhattan neighborhood from unwelcome graffiti artisans.