Vandal Who Defaced P.S. 122 Handball Court Is Arrested

City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. helps schoolchildren at P.S. 122, Astoria eradicate the graffiti "tags" defacing the murals that volunteers painted on the school's handball court October 28.

The graffiti vandal whose tag of "Beso" defaced a local mural designed by children and painted by volunteers at P.S. 122 on New York Cares Day was arrested by police of the 114th Precinct last Thursday, November 9. The suspect was arrested at the 114th Precinct station house at 34-16 Astoria Blvd. and initially charged with criminal mischief and making graffiti after he was observed-and also admitted to-vandalizing a number of different locations. Police are withholding the name of the boy because at 16 years of age, he is a minor.

City Councilmember Peter F. Vallone Jr. commended the police for the quick arrest. Vallone helped whitewash the handball court at P.S. 122 to prepare it for the mural and became incensed when the artwork was defaced over the weekend of October 28 and 29, only days after it was completed. He urged police to find the culprit quickly, and they did, arresting the suspect within a few weeks.

"This is another lesson for all the graffiti punks out there: if you tag in this city, we will catch you and you will be punished," Vallone said. "Graffiti is no longer a crime that people can assume they will simply get away with. The police take it seriously, and they now have the tools to track down those who make our city uglier with their vandalism."

Police are currently determining whether the vandal, who was 15 when he committed the crime, will be charged as an adult or a minor. Vallone is calling upon authorities to weigh all the aspects of the case and determine an appropriate punishment for someone this age who committed such a disrespectful act.

Vallone, who was quoted last week as saying that authorities would "send a message with handcuffs and jail time", praised police for aggressively investigating this case, pursuing the vandal at his school and home before finding and arresting him. Police said they are also on the verge of catching several other well-known local graffiti vandals. The 114th Precinct currently has the highest number of graffiti arrests of any precinct in the city.

Vallone has continually pushed for tougher prosecutions for graffiti vandalism arrests, recently scoring a victory when another notorious vandal, Oliver Siandre, aka "Kiko", was sentenced to prison for six months and ordered to pay $25,000 restitution.

Linda J. Wilson