“This bill will be a big deterrent if people know that their name and address is going to be kept on file,” said Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria), who wrote the legislation. “As graffiti vandals come up with new ways to destroy property, elected officials have to come up with new ways to combat that and give law enforcement the tools to combat it.”
Still, it is unclear what effect the legislation will have on scratchiti, since it merely requires that purchases be documented, rather than making it substantially more difficult to obtain etching acid. The other question is whether the majority of scratchiti is in fact executed using etching acid rather than other materials.
Websites offering tips about “tagging” techniques are readily available, and in several online forums, graffiti artists compare notes about effective scratchiti tools. Although etching acid is mentioned, more commonly recommended scratchiti implements include rocks, drill bits, sandpaper, Exacto knives and pointed tools called scribes.
Those are harder — if not impossible — to regulate, though.
Regardless of the tools used, scratchiti tags are costly to get rid of. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority spends millions of dollars replacing defaced glass on subway cars, Vallone said. And business owners fork over thousands to replace storefront and restaurant windows.
Robert Last, owner of Fantasy Curtains and Linens on Steinway Street in Astoria, said he has had to replace the glass windows on his storefront at least three times in the past five years because of scratchiti. He said he ends up paying $500 to $1,000 to replace each panel of glass — and there are six on the storefront.
“Luckily, we have insurance,” Last said, “but there’s only so many times you can tell them you’re replacing the windows before they either drop you or refuse to cover glass.”
Etching acid isn’t just a problem for windows; it’s also dangerous for people when used irresponsibly.
“Emergency rooms have seen many incidences of graffiti vandals themselves who have burned themselves down to the bone with etching acid,” Vallone said. Anyone who happens to touch a graffiti “tag” made with etching acid before it cools also risks severe burns.
Vallone said he originally wanted to require that individuals purchasing etching acid obtain licenses to do so, but he said so many people use the substance legally — from glass makers to auto mechanics — that he ran into stiff opposition when he suggested the measure.
“We were actually at an impasse, until I went to buy Sudafed one day and they requested my photo identification,” Vallone said. “And I said, ‘If I can provide [an I.D.] to buy Sudafed, why not ask people to provide it when they buy etching acid?’”
Vallone’s bill passed 49 to 2 in the City Council.
This isn’t the city’s first bill restricting the purchase of etching acid. In 2003 the City Council passed a bill prohibiting minors from possessing various graffiti tools including etching acid, and two years ago the legal age for possession of the substance was raised to 21.
“Tagging” has been on the rise in recent years in New York, and the police have made more graffiti-related arrests this year than ever before, according to Vallone. The NYPD did not respond to repeated requests to verify that information or to provide statistics about the number of reported instances of graffiti in the city and the borough.
“Seven or eight years ago graffiti had been largely eradicated,” Vallone said. “But then irresponsible corporations ... started ad campaigns making graffiti cool. Kids are impressionable; they saw that.”
For example, Arizona Iced Tea recently came up with an energy drink called All City, which comes in a can decorated with graffiti. “All City” is a term used to describe someone who makes his or her “mark” with graffiti tags in all five boroughs of New York City.
In addition, various buildings, such as the well-known Five Pointz in Long Island City, are adorned with legal graffiti murals, which are widely regarded as art.
Vallone didn’t mince words when speaking about the typical marking we see on the street, though. “Tagging is not about art; it’s about destruction,” he said.
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