Office of Borough President James P. Molinaro
Staten Island, New York
B.P. Molinaro outraged over graffiti vandalism at parks
Bloomingdale and Conference House Parks hit over the past few days
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Borough President Molinaro today decried graffiti vandalism that was discovered by his staffers yesterday morning at two South Shore parks. At Conference House Park, vandals defaced a stone bridge to be incorporated into a Bluebelt project with spray-painted tags and vulgar etchings. At Bloomingdale Park, vandals covered handicapped-accessible playground equipment with spray paint. The brand-new equipment is set to be officially opened to the public with a ribbon cutting this upcoming Friday. Also, signs have been torn down and vandalized throughout Bloomingdale Park.
“I am absolutely disgusted by this situation,” said Molinaro. “While I condemn all graffiti vandalism, to have vandals show blatant disregard for new parks equipment and infrastructure is appalling, especially after spending millions of dollars to complete projects at both Conference House and Bloomingdale Parks,” Molinaro said.
“To have these parks defaced is unacceptable. This is a perfect example of why we cannot let our guard down in our fight against graffiti. My office is alerting both the Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office to this recent spate of vandalism, and when these criminals are caught, I expect them to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Molinaro said.
“Frankly, it makes me feel that the law enforcement approach in Singapore may be correct—graffiti vandals should be punished with caning, that’s what they deserve,” Molinaro said.
July 12, 2006