Some people don't think before they get inked.
On Monday afternoon, passersby and park officials marveled at a man with a tattoo on his chest at Matthews Palmer Playground, located between 45th and 46th Streets in Hell's Kitchen.
“That was really funny,” tattoo artist Darian Ramjit told The Washington Post, saying he was impressed by the anonymous artist's work. “It was a little unsanitary, but this is New York. This kind of thing happens every day.”
The prison-style tattoo itself was “a tribal piece of lion in greyscale, just black and white shading,” added Ramjit, 29. “It was awesome. I thought it looked great.”
In New York State, you need a professional license to cut hair, perform tattoos, or straighten teeth. The Department of Health issues licenses to tattoo artists.
Additionally, in order to work in New York City, tattoo artists must complete a written exam and a three-hour infection control course.
Video and photos obtained by The Washington Post show that the unauthorized tattooing took place around 4 p.m., just inches from the playground equipment.
Footage and photos show a man with tattoos lying on a concrete ping pong table, while another man can be seen lying on the other side of the table, although it is unclear whether the second man also has tattoos.
“I spoke to the guy and he didn't speak much English,” Ramjit said. “They were both Latino and the guy with the tattoos was his friend.”
Fabian Johnson, 40, told The Post that Monday's scene was one of the strangest he'd witnessed in his eight years working for the city's parks department.
“Anytime I see something weird happening in the park, I send my wife a video,” Johnson said, noting that when The Washington Post visited the park this week, a tattoo artist's needle and ink were placed directly on a concrete table covered in pigeon noises. “It's just so crazy to get a tattoo in a park. It's just so weird.”
Park officials say the playground has become a hangout spot for delivery drivers, drug addicts and homeless people.
“You'll see men cutting their hair. [in the park]”But most parks do it,” Johnson said. “Two weeks ago there was a woman here putting braces on two Spanish adults. She was sitting on a bench and putting metal parts on their teeth. It was insane.”
“It is illegal to provide any paid services in a park without a permit from the Parks Department,” a representative for the city's Parks Department told The Post in a statement. “When we receive reports of illegal activity, park enforcement patrol officers will be dispatched to correct the situation and issue citations as necessary.”
The statement said tattoo artists must be licensed and urged anyone who witnesses illegal activity in public parks to call 311.
This is the second time someone has been tattooed in public in New York City within the past two months.
Disturbing footage Footage from July taken outside the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City shows a man wearing only one glove sitting on a bench outside the public housing complex tattooing another man's neck.
