Pamphlet Warns Of 'Tagging'; Court Negates NYC Graffiti Law
BY LIZ GOFF

The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld a lower-court ruling that blocks city officials from enforcing a law preventing the sale of spray paint and broad-tipped markers to anyone between the ages of 18 and 21 ruling that banning access to these items erodes the First Amendment rights of young adults in the specified age group. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by seven high school and college students who acted after the city began enforcing the law on January 1, 2006.

In the weeks following the death of 13-year-old Ali Kraft who illegally entered Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) property and was struck by a train after scrawling graffiti on LIRR equipment, local lawmakers and community leaders and activists have been searching for a way to communicate the dangers associated with graffiti "tagging" to parents and other adults.

In response to the teen's death, officials at the 112th Police Precinct Community Council have drafted a pamphlet they plan to distribute throughout the Forest Hills/Rego Park communities, which outlines the dangers involved with graffiti vandalism on nearby LIRR property.

Council President, Heidi Harrison- Chain, said the pamphlet is designed to alert parents to the dangers graffiti vandals face. The pamphlet also gives notice to parents that graffiti vandalism is "unacceptable and illegal", and it advises them to monitor their youngsters' activities, she said. "We don't want to see anyone else injured or killed under these circumstances," Harrison-Chain said. "We need help from parents to stop kids from getting involved in these dangerous activities," she added. Community Council volunteers and area residents painted over and cleaned areas of graffiti on Sunday, February 4.

LIRR spokesperson Sam Zambuto said there were 50 fatalities involving railroad facilities between 2004 and 2006. LIRR investigators determined 36 of those incidents were suicides, 11 were station, track, or railroad crossing deaths and the remaining three involved trespassers on LIRR property. The LIRR has installed and maintains fencing along 100 of 700 miles of its track, located from Queens to Suffolk County. Zambuto said crews are constantly searching for and repairing breaks in the fencing made by vagrants and trespassers.