Residents of the Upper West Side are understandably upset after vandals sprayed the word “SMOKE” on numerous businesses across a lengthy stretch of Columbus Avenue.
“It was everywhere—on bus stops, buildings, trash cans. I’ve never seen so much tagging before,” expressed City Councilor Gail Brewer, clearly frustrated.
The “SMOKE” tags, which first appeared on Monday, rapidly spread from 72nd to 96th Street, affecting around 30 buildings.
“This is terrible for business. It’s not their property, and it looks awful,” commented Leila Ross, a 21-year-old saleswoman at the 93rd Street Pet Market, which luckily stayed untouched.
Ella Social, a restaurant at 72nd and Columbus, had its new, pricey outdoor canopy vandalized just a day after installation. A waitress there, Marianne, said, “It’s unbelievable. It’s so disappointing, especially since it was newly installed.”
Ahmed Elzabeah, owner of Columbus Cafe, pointed out that this problem isn’t new to the area. “It’s really bad for business,” he lamented, mentioning his ongoing battle with graffiti over the past 23 years.
“We used to have a gate, but we had to remove it because of the graffiti,” he added.
Brewer stated that her office notified the authorities, and the city Department of Health responded promptly, although the cleanup ended up costing taxpayers a significant amount. The department dispatched three workers, who took three days to remove the paint.
Vincent Gragani, a spokesperson for the Department of Sanitation, acknowledged the challenge: “We know graffiti harms neighborhoods. We work daily to eliminate it from various surfaces across the city, handling nearly 18,000 service requests this year alone.”
The city allocates over $2.7 million each year to tackle graffiti removal.
As the Upper West Side grapples with its issues, it appears that similar vandalism has now reached downtown. The “SMOKE” tag was also found recently at West 4th Street and 6th Avenue.
As of now, the suspect remains unidentified by the New York City Police Department.
