Graffiti busters on 7th

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

More than two-dozen activists joined officers from the 68th Precinct to fight the scourge of graffiti along Seventh Avenue near 80th Street on Saturday — and in doing so, drew a strong distinction between the real thing and the sidewalk chalk drawings made by that cute 6-year-old from Park Slope.

Two weeks after graffiti “vandal” Natalie Shea received her now-infamous warning letter from the city, the Bay Ridge volunteers tackled painted-on scrawls on storefront gates lining the avenue.

“It is really terrible to see our doors all messed up like that,” said hair salon owner Barbara Caporimo, thanking the volunteers.

The anti-grime team was the brainchild of Officer David Gallo, who decided in 2005 that the time had come “to make a statement about how we feel about our community,” he said. “We take all acts of vandalism as a serious charge.” But not all acts of vandalism are created equal.

Community Board 10 District Manager Josephine Beckmann was on hand to clean up the mess, but admitted that she had no problem with graffiti of the chalk variety.

“If residents see chalk drawings, they should just look and enjoy them, not call 311,” said Beckmann. “I will even admit that I have two sidewalk chalk artists in my own home.”