Groups Make Headway Against Graffiti, but Vandals Persevere

By HANNAN ADELY

Local anti-graffiti groups have managed to beat back the graffiti plague, but it hasn't been easy. That's because the criminal justice system rarely keeps offenders out of circulation for very long.

At the Bronx District Attorney's (DA) office, Maria Bonavoglia, bureau chief of the criminal court, sees graffiti criminals come and go, but since prisons are filled with more serious felons, the taggers are usually given light sentences. For a first time offender convicted of a graffiti misdemeanor, the DA recommends a sentence of community service from two to five days in minor cases, or up to 10 days for more serious damage. If private property is damaged, the felon may be required to pay restitution.

But for a second offense, the DA asks for jail time. "We recommend jail on repeat offenses, but oftentimes judges don't sentence defendants to jail unless it gets very repetitive," Bonavoglia explained.

One of Norwood's more infamous graffiti criminals has had his share of run-ins with law enforcement, and typifies the average graffiti maker -- male and between the ages of 18 and 22, according to Lieutenant Richard Gribben of the 52nd Precinct. Ralph Flores, 19, known popularly by his tag name, Noke, has made his mark on the neighborhood and beyond.

"It [Flores' tag] was just continuous for at least two or three years, between Kingsbridge and Norwood," said Sirio Guerino, a founder of Norwood Against Graffiti (NAG), a volunteer organization. "It was along 207th Street and at the Bainbridge and Kingsbridge train stations. It could pop up anywhere. The buildings across from St. Brendan's especially got hit."

According to court records, the word Noke was spray painted on 13 train cars in the D-train car yard in Bedford Park when Flores was busted by transit police on May 16, 1998.

Flores has been arrested at least twice in the Bronx and currently awaits trial for another offense in Manhattan -- all for graffiti violations. "We recommended 20 days in jail on both cases," Bonavoglia said. "The judge sentenced him to 10 days of community service or a 30-day jail alternative" if Flores doesn't show up for service. Because Flores did not show up, there is now a warrant for his arrest and he will face a hearing for re-sentencing.

Officials said Flores is one of the city's most notorious graffiti makers and is all too familiar to the vandal and transit units of the New York City Police Department. "These are people whose entire criminal history is based solely on graffiti," Bonavoglia said. "Their tag is well-known in the Bronx and in Manhattan." (The Norwood News was unable to reach Flores for comment.)

Cops admit they have a hard time catching graffiti vandals in the act, especially "when you consider the number of square blocks [police] have to cover," Gribben said. "At certain times of the night, radio cars are very busy. It's very easy to find a spot where a car won't pass by for a while."

As for Flores, Gribben said he has been laying low since his last skirmish with the law. "He seems to have gone underground," Gribben said. "I haven't seen his work recently, for the last six months."

But Guerino is not so sure. "I've seen an adaptation of his name," he said. "They distort the writing or the spelling." Guerino said he has seen the tags Nokiel and Nukiel in the area recently and attributes it to either Flores or "his following." "It could've been him or somebody who wanted to keep the legend going," he said.

Despite the recurring problem and a legal system with higher priorities, local anti-graffiti groups, which recruit volunteers and/or pay professionals to regularly remove and paint over graffiti, have made considerable strides in cleaning up the northwest Bronx. "It has gotten better," Guerino said. "I see it because I see areas where there is no graffiti program and there's a huge difference. Our strip is so different compared to others in the Bronx." NAG pays a Yonkers-based graffiti removal company, Partners in Grime to remove graffiti on Bainbridge Avenue, East 204th Street, and some adjacent residential streets. The Jerome-Gun Hill Business Improvement District also retains the company for ongoing graffiti removal, as does Montefiore Medical Center which pays for the cleaning of an additional 20 blocks in the area.

In Bedford Park, Assemblyman Jeffrey Klein has funded graffiti removal along the Grand Concourse and Bedford Park Boulevard.

Pat Logan, a member of Keep It Clean (KIC), a graffiti removal program that hires young people to remove graffiti in Fordham Bedford, said, "It does have an effect. If you go south of Fordham Road, it's like night and day. All the mailboxes are tagged up."

Police also say graffiti is decreasing and attribute the change to the volunteer groups. "Enforcement is a small part of the solution," Gribben said. "The cleanup efforts are most effective."

Gribben said it is both difficult and expensive for police to conduct graffiti operations, although his unit responds to community requests. "The organizations let you know where they painted and we put teams to stake out locations," he said. "We got four arrests over a few months by staking out, but it's a costly operation."

But Logan believes law enforcement is a big part of the long-term solution to the problem, and argued that police should crack down on graffiti while on the lookout for other criminal activity.

He complained that mailboxes and lampposts painted over by KIC are usually hit again by vandals in just a few days' time. "We're looking at getting beyond this constant taking down cycle," he said. "It's a vicious cycle."

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