Letter to the editor of The New York Times (unpublished), January 10, 1995:

On January 8th 1995, The New York Times ran an article entitled "When City Walls Speak". The story, written by Jennifer Bloom, "deciphered the hidden meanings" behind New York's street graffiti. It also followed the exploits of three anti-graffiti housing cops, Officers Cekada, Gonzalez and Ruiz. The Times has run a number of stories about graff over the last couple of years, many of which have been surprisingly fair and even. This story, however, was neither. Full of blatant inaccuracies and mangled theories, it was a sloppy piece of hack journalism bent on demonizing the culture. The following is my response to the article, which The New York Times refused to print:

To the editor-

Re: your article "When City Walls Speak" (The New York Times, City Section, Sunday, January 8, 1995. By Jennifer Kingson Bloom).

So, for about the hundredth time in twenty-five years the police are claiming to have deciphered the messages of New York City graffiti writers. This time their three top police experts are excited to announce they've discovered that we are, for the most part, drug dealers, gang members and murderers.

Possibly these young officers feel a need to add danger and mystique to their jobs by demonizing the thousands of disenfranchised kids, as well as many full-grown adults, who are putting their mark on the city. This slander campaign fits right in with the current administrations' portrayal of homeless pan handlers as life-threatening thugs. After all, it's the local police who are committed to enforcing the so-called "quality of life" with guns to the head. This is exactly the way two graffiti suspects were arrested in Queens last week-with guns to their heads.

Meanwhile, I'm sure subway commuters will be happy to know that the quality of their rush-hour commute is assured by The Transit Authority's anti-graffiti policy. One which yanks trains out of service, regardless of the subsequent inconvenience to passengers, if graffiti is discovered on the cars.

In the articles' glossary, a graffiti crew is defined as a gang. This is an interesting definition for kids with spraycans looking for a little local notoriety or a place to create. The mural, which the article pictured as an example of "gang graffiti," was identified as such because, you allege, a cartoon character is giving "a secret hand signal". You should be informed that the mural was commissioned by McDonald's and was done by the artist "Verse". He is not a gang member, and is unfamiliar with the gang you incorrectly associate him with.

A word to the police. I don't think your draconian tactics will wipe out graffiti. It also becomes increasingly clear that try as you might, you will never understand what graffiti is saying. Graffiti writers are saying many different things. But then again I suppose we're not talking to you.

Respectfully yours, Zephyr. New York Graffiti Artist.