::Graff In New York News::
Graffiti whitewashed BY PETE DONOHUE DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Michael Brophy traveled all the way from Australia to spray-paint a subway car with his tag ‘Sidne.’ He spent four days in custody for vandalizing trains in three boroughs. Michael Brophy As subway graffiti surges, very few vandals are being arrested for major hits – and those who get caught do little or no jail time for their crimes, the Daily News has learned. Late last year, NYPD Transit Bureau Chief James Hall said cops made 28 arrests for major subway graffiti attacks – defined as hits that take trains out of service. But the list of suspects that the NYPD’s press office subsequently produced at The News’ request has the names and arrest dates of just 15 individuals. Prosecutors were unable to find records for five of the alleged vandals. Many of the cases that have gone forward ended with the defendants doing just a few days in jail, according to court records and the city Correction Department. City Councilman Peter Vallone (D-Queens), an anti-graffiti crusader, said some judges just don’t take graffiti cases seriously enough. “Clearly not everyone deserves jail time for graffiti, but it’s important to ensure that everybody doesn’t get a slap on the wrist either,” he said. “We need the courts to be on our side and ensure that there are consequences for committing this crime.” One of those arrested last year was Michael Brophy, 21, who came all the way from Australia just to paint his tag, “Sidne,” on subway trains. Brophy was charged with vandalizing trains in the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens. Each misdemeanor carries a maximum sentence of a year behind bars. He spent four days in custody before returning home. Three young men from Slovakia were arrested with Brophy for trespassing on tracks in Queens, each carrying several cans of spray paint. They were sentenced the next day to 15 days in jail or a $250 fine. It appears they paid the fine – but they didn’t do the time, according to the Correction Department. Brooklyn prosecutors asked a judge to sentence Morgan Harbour, 21, to one year to resolve three cases: two for making graffiti and one for pot possession, according to Orlando Rivera, spokesman for Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes. In one of the cases, Harbour – who has five graffiti arrests on his record – spray-painted his tag, “Fines,” on a subway tunnel wall, according to the police complaint. A judge sentenced Harbour to 15 days in jail, Rivera said. He was released after six days. Erik Morales, 22, spray-painted his tag, “Mista,” on five subway cars that were stored in three separate locations in Manhattan, according to court records. He received a conditional discharge – a warning to stay out of trouble or face a jail sentence. The rest of the suspects on the NYPD’s roster: two young men who are to appear in court in the coming weeks; one who is wanted by the police, and one who got a conditional discharge to resolve his arrest for trespassing and pot possession. Two juveniles also have been arrested; their cases are not public information.
Originally published on January 16, 2007
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New York City Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual (1970)
New York City Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual (1970), originally uploaded by Triborough.
A cool collectors item for train buffs.
