Newly Painted Murals At P.S. 122 Vandalized
BY ELENI DANIELS AND LINDA WILSON

Photos Mamie Faye School P.S. 122 The P.S. 122 "Handball Wall" completed art mural before graffiti vandals struck.

More than 65 volunteers including 16 staff members and parents of children attending the Mamie Fay School, P.S. 122, in Astoria, participated in the 15th annual New York Cares Day on October 21. This was the second time the school took part in the program under the leadership of the school's principal.

A significant part of the project was the painting of a nearly-20-foot-long, doublesided mural on both sides of the handball court in the outside gym area that called on the creative artistry of 20 volunteers. P.S. 122 art teacher Phillip Kautz sketched one of the mural designs, which he named "handball wall". The other mural design, depicting an oversize U.S. flag with diverse ethnic faces, was sketched several years ago by former third-grader Sadia Humayra, now a ninth-grader at Townsend Harris H.S.

To the dismay and anger of everyone involved, by Monday, several graffiti tags were found scrawled across both sides of the school's artwork.

"It makes my blood boil to see the hard work of these young children defaced by these graffiti punks," City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. said. "They sent their message with spray paint over an American flag painted by kids. We'll send our message with handcuffs and jail time. Let me say again, loud and clear, you can run but you can't hide-we will find you."

The P.S. 122 "Diversity in Queens" completed art mural just after completion.

In July, Vallone joined with a group of students to repaint the handball court with white paint to prepare for the project. The most recent tags appear to resemble the ones that he and the students covered during the earlier work session.

Vallone, the 114th Precinct Youth and Graffiti Unit and the volunteer 114th Civilian Observation Patrol (Civ-OP) are working to put an end to the local graffiti problem. "It is unfortunate that this happened," Barbara Pollock, co-founder of the 114th Civ-OP, said. "It is happening everywhere- disrespecting people's property and art."

Mary Kojes, P.S. 122 principal, said the graffiti was a major disappointment.

"The police were notified immediately, but what message are we sending to our kids?" Kojes asked. "We are planning to clean it up and [on the flag mural] we will write sentences from the Constitution in place of the graffiti marks."

Graffiti "tags" similar to ones that were eradicated earlier this year by City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. deface murals painted by students on both sides of a handball court wall at P.S. 122, Astoria.

Kojes added that the playground gates were not locked at night to deter vandals because the playground, to her knowledge, was owned by the city Department of Parks and Recreation. Investigation revealed, however, that the playground is, indeed, the property of the city Department of Education and P.S. 122 now can take some proactive measures against vandalism.

Kojes pointed out that New York Cares Day is intended to create a beautiful learning environment and a sense of community for everyone involved. "It's the most wonderful thing that can happen to our city as far as supporting and beautifying our schools. All of us at P.S. 122 are very thankful for the organization [New York Cares Day]. It is not easy for 1,400 kids to use the [P.S. 122] facilities every day," Kojes, who added that she was grateful to the PTA for providing refreshments for the volunteers, said.

Photos Mamie Faye School P.S. 122 New York Cares Day volunteers sow seeds and plant flowers in the main entrance of P.S. 122.

The beautification projects at P.S. 122, completed in that one day, were spearheaded by school staff members Paris Zorbas, Tina Garanes, Amy Goldstein and Kautz. As well as the two murals on both sides of the handball court, the projects included painting the main entrance iron gate and railings; gardening; painting a book closet behind the indoor gym, and painting of an entry wall inside a student bathroom on the main floor.

Kautz said this volunteer effort demonstrates to the school community that there are people within the community-at-large who are compelled to help and beautify their schools. He added, "It's great working with all the volunteers, and the students get such a big surprise."

Site Captain Eleanor Kendrick, a project manager in transportation construction by day, was in charge of making sure that all the projects ran smoothly. "I get involved because it's fun and it gives me an opportunity to give back to the community," she said. "It's very rewarding and it's a feelgood thing."

"Sharing is a very positive message to children as well as [showing] how important our environment is to all of us," concurred Anna Aprea, P.S.122 assistant principal.

New York Cares Day officials said that volunteers throughout New York City helped paint hundreds of classrooms and hallways, organized 50 libraries, painted more than 350 murals and completed additional projects for 117 public schools. The annual volunteer event also raises money to support New York Cares' overall programming and upgrading of public schools for New York City kids. For more information, visit www.newyorkcaresday.org.

Vallone recently scored a major victory when graffiti vandal Oliver Siandre (aka Kiko) was sentenced to six months in prison. He encourages constituents to report graffiti to his district office, 718-274-4500; his representatives can help coordinate a cleanup.