Vallone Jr. Eyes Tougher Laws For Graffiti Menace

By John Toscano

Alarmed by evidence that young people can get their hands on illegal spray paints and indelible markers too easily, City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. and the council Public Safety committee are considering toughening the anti-graffiti laws to make up for a serious lack of enforcement.

At a recent hearing, held jointly with the Committee On Consumer Affairs, the focus also fell on etching acid, which is used to mark up subway car windows and produces permanent damage.

Also on Vallone’s agenda for the hearing was legislation increasing penalties for illegal sale of graffiti paraphernalia to minors and a requirement that stores must post signs clearly stating existing laws which prohibit sales to minors.

The committee chairman noted that a recent council investigation found that although city law prohibits sale of spray paint or markers to any person under 18, 50 percent of the stores sold aerosol paint cans to minors while 86 percent of art stores visited sold broad tipped indelible markers to minors.

The council is also considering increasing fines for a second graffiti offense from $500 to $1,000.

"Nothing makes a good neighborhood look bad like graffiti, but it has proven to be an intractable problem," Vallone commented.

New York Police Department Chief of Transportation Michael Scagnelli, calling for a law making the sale of etching acid illegal, said that while it has valid artistic and commercial uses, cases of minors using it to deface subway car windows call for special attention in the law.

SEARS WELCOMES SMALL BUSINESS: The city council and the mayor’s office are collaborating on holding a strategic planning summit aimed at assisting the city’s small business owners in getting through these slow economic times.

Councilmember Helen Sears (D–Jackson Heights) has invited small business leaders in her council district to participate in the December 2 event. A formal invitation will be sent once details are finalized, Sears said.

"The City Council and the mayor’s office realize in these times of budget cuts there is a need to sit down with small businesses to produce concrete and viable alternatives to improving the city’s small businesses," Sears stated.

As part of the summit, which will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the council and administration want input from the business owners, too." This survey will help planners of the Strategic Planning Summit get a grasp of what small business leaders want out of the summit," Sears said.

Copies of the survey can be downloaded at www.council.nyc.ny.us/small business, Sears said. Otherwise, call Rocco D’Angelo at Sears’ district office at (718) 803-6373, or stop by the office at 37-32 75th St., Jackson Heights.

ACTION BY AVELLA’S COMMITTEE: Describing it as an important step forward, Councilmember Tony Avella, chair of the Zoning and Franchises sub committee, announced that his subcommittee has approved Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed resolution authorizing the city Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (Do ITT) to grant franchises in connection with local high-capacity telecommunications services in the city.

Avella (D–Bayside) said the franchises would assure that New York City continues as a leader in the telecommunications field.

"These franchises will enable the city to raise additional revenue while providing route diversity and redundancy for existing and future telecommunications systems," Avella said. "It will also facilitate state-of-the art technology services to be brought directly to New York businesses and residents."

MONSERRATE VISITS ISRAEL: City Councilmember Hiram Monserrate (D–Corona) is part of a group of city officials presently visiting Israel as guests of the UJA Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council. Among others in the group are city Comptroller William Thompson and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. The visit "aims to bring non-Jewish legislators to Israel to better educate them on Israel so they can go back and communicate to their constituencies what they see here and the reason why America should support Israel," Ron Soloway of the UJA Federation of New York said.

McLAUGHLIN PARADE GRAND MARSHAL: Assemblymember Brian McLaughlin (D–Flushing) served as grand marshal of the Sikh Parade last Saturday in honor of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, a revered 14th century scholar and religious leader. The parade kicked off with a ceremony in front of the Gurdwara Baba Makhan Temple in Richmond Hill, which is in the new portion of McLaughlin’s 25th Assembly District. The parade, a major event in the Sikh community, attracted about 7,000 spectators.

McLaughlin noted, "I am proud to lead this procession commemorating so widely respected an individual whose insights and vision inspired generations of Sikh Gurus."

Accompanying McLaughlin at the parade was Uma Sen Gupta, longtime activist in the South Asian community and McLaughlin’s recently elected Democratic co-leader in Part B of the 25th AD.

JEWISH STUDIES CENTER LECTURE: The Center for Jewish Studies at Queens College recently held the Inaugural Biblical Archeology Slide Lecture Series, an event funded by a $20,000 grant secured by state Senator Frank Padavan (R–C, Bellerose). At the event, Padavan said, "Cultural and educational programs like the Biblical Archeology series enrich the community and the quality of life of our residents. The first presentation was both informative and entertaining and I commend the center for sponsoring programs like this."

MEETING: Chairman Thomas Long of the Queens County Conservative Party, has announced that the organization’s next meeting will be held tomorrow evening, Thursday, November 21, at 8 p.m. at the American Legion Continental Post 1424, 107-15 Metropolitan Ave., Forest Hills.