I totally agree the city council should scrap the whole law.
Now, they're just stuck. Either they pass the law, which is absolutely impossible to enforce, or they penalize the person who has already been "tagged," or they have completely taken all this time and wasted the taxpayers money in discussing it at the meetings.
That's why I'm sure this will end with this passing and being put into place.
I really don't think the city council worries too much about wasting our tax money they've been doing it for years.
BINGO!!!!! They absolutely will pass this. Ms. Blanchard has to save face here and not go down in defeat! Self serving at it's best. They all have ego's so large, that they could fill a football field!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
SCHENECTADY Teens offered lessons in graffiti BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
Call it graffiti with a divine purpose. Teenagers on Hamilton Hill have spent the week learning the art of spray-painting as the organization Youth for Christ tried to talk about Jesus in a language the kids would understand. By Thursday evening, some of the teens still hadn’t found Jesus, but they were convinced that their graffiti was an art form — just one with very few legal canvases. “Graffiti, art, it’s the same thing,” said D.C. Dunkel, 14. “It’s just like any other art, you’ve got to put the time in.” Dunkel has painted murals at Quest, an inner-city arts program. He’s also been arrested for his unauthorized art, he said, painted on the sides of buildings in Bellevue. In Youth for Christ spray-painting classes, teacher Richard Phillips offered a third option. “I spray-paint only on legal walls,” the Canadian said after painting “JESUS” on the side of a van provided by the Youth for Christ as a graffiti canvas. “It’s not as hard as it sounds. You approach a business that’s been vandalized and propose to clean up the city with a nice mural,” Phillips said. Each of his students had to promise him that they wouldn’t use their skills to paint private property with- out permission. Then he launched into traditional art lessons: texture, color schemes, balance. By Thursday, his class was practicing ways to pitch their art to businesses, as well as creating portfolios to show to the owners of their prospective canvases. Phillips’ portfolio emphasizes Christianity. “I usually do Jesus pieces, tell about his mercy,” Phillips said. “The thing is, although I’m an artist, I’m not just here to teach them about art. You should teach them responsibility for their neighborhood and a positive message of Jesus Christ.” Phillips is one of several Youth for Christ who travels the country, running weeklong hip-hop programs to spread the word of God. Local Youth for Christ invited the group but did not run the program. Among Phillips’ students, there wasn’t much talk about religion. But they loved the idea of making outdoor art. “If we’re going to do it, let’s do it correctly,” said Pedro Caceres, 17, who added that he doesn’t paint on private property without permission. “Most of us don’t. It’s really just a whole bunch of artists in there,” he said. He’s hoping new businesses will hire him to design their signs or paint advertisements on the walls. “That would get into the urban culture. It would fit in with the other buildings, at least in this neighborhood,” he said. “I’d go to a store like that, because it looks hot.” But he, too, said that graffiti shouldn’t count as an act of vandalism. “A lot of people think graffi ti is vandalism. It’s not. It’s art,” he said, adding, “They’re not only teaching us to do graffiti, they teach us not to vandalize.” BENNETT WORRIES Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett isn’t so sure. “The bottom line with graffi ti is, you need to have a canvas,” he said. “After the (Youth for Christ) leave, then what becomes the canvas? I suspect there’s very little available to them. The substitute becomes people’s property.” He said the Youth for Christ should reconsider the program and stop offering graffiti lessons. “I’m a little upset. I just think this is a little counterproductive,” he said, noting that the Schenectady City Council has been wrestling with the increased problem of graffiti and is considering a law that would ban minors from possessing spray paint. But Phillips said he has faith in his students. “Every single one of my students has personally promised me never to do it illegally,” he said. “I just have to trust that.” The Youth for Christ will continue their program today from 9 a.m. to noon at the Craig Street Boys and Girls Club and 4 to 7 p.m. at Jerry Burrell Park. In addition to lessons involving spray paint, they will teach children how to break dance, rap and perform as DJs. The event will culminate with a teenrun concert at the park on Saturday evening
Gee...I wonder if Michael Angelo started this way?
Sorry folks....I'm all for Jesus, but artists should be taught to paint on canvas. Personally I feel it should be a 'formal' education FIRST. Artistry later! Get the education so when these kids grow up and if they TRULY are artistically gifted, they can enter the business world with a skill and make 'good' money.
Quoted Text
“Every single one of my students has personally promised me never to do it illegally,”
And I promised my parents and my driving instructor that I would never go over the speed limit either!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
There is no such thing as 'good' money.....absolute truth lies where there is no money.....
the church has a positive message without killing the spirit.....I dont like graffiti unless it's 'planned' graffiti.....the government cant plan art....
The government cant make character and truth.....the government is a reflection of the country's character and truth......our education system, our business systems, our health system etc.......
The more there is of government the less there is of 'us'.....
yes, these kids need formal education.... the government lacks the ability to educate both in character and personal drive and responsibility.....but they sure like to test and measure.....although, to what are they measuring......most of what a person is made up of cannot be measured.......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Schenectady’s graffiti problem continues to grow, with the nasty stuff now regularly appearing on bridges, road signs, bus shelters and, of course, building walls all over town. And city officials continue to look for ways to stop the vandals responsible for it, including a law that would ban minors from possessing spray paint. One method they should not support was on display last week in Hamilton Hill at Jerry Burrell Park and the Boys and Girls Club on Craig Street. There, a representative for the organization Youth for Christ was calling graffiti “art” and teaching kids how to create, even market, it. Most of the graffiti in Schenectady doesn’t even pretend to be art. It’s single-colored (black) and crude, both in terms of execution and message, consisting mostly of people’s initials, numbers and profanities, with the occasional gang message. The Youth for Christ rep, who came with a graffiti-covered van, is trying to reach kids not only with this “art,” but with those other dubious staples of contemporary innercity culture: rap music, break dancing and DJ-ing. After learning about texture, color schemes and balance in spray-painting, the kids are supposed to create a portfolio, go to local merchants and propose to paint a nice mural on their wall. A few problems come to mind, in addition to that of dignifying graffiti. One is that kids would have an incentive to illegally scrawl on merchants’ walls and then come back and offer to paint a mural over it free of charge (even though the Youth for Christ rep says they have promised him never to do it illegally). Or they could go the extortion route, visiting merchants with clean walls and offering a mural, with the implication that if they don’t agree they will get tagged. Another problem would be if the graffiti had a Jesus theme, as the Youth for Christ rep’s does. Not only might this be offensive to many non-Christians, but to some Christians as well. The city should have nothing to do with this stuff. Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett was right to ask Youth for Christ to reconsider their approach. If the city allows murals, as an experiment to see if it leads to less graffiti, it should do so very selectively: in a few places, with appropriate themes, good design and artwork. Otherwise it should concentrate on catching and prosecuting practictioners of graffiti (with methods that include cameras and rewards for information) and painting over it just as soon as it is discovered. In additition to city personnel, crews could consist of paid teenagers, service groups, neighborhood organizations and those sentenced to community service — most appropriately for vandalism.
Most of the graffiti in Schenectady doesn’t even pretend to be art. It’s single-colored (black) and crude, both in terms of execution and message, consisting mostly of people’s initials, numbers and profanities, with the occasional gang message.
Not a single artist with the spray paint......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
I think grafitti, no matter how well done it is, is offensive. It makes a city or town look like sh**! It appears to the passer by that the community doesn't care any longer. The sense of pride is gone. I have to say that the city of Schenectady is turning into a trash can. I don't care what the metroplex does, or how great they say the two blocks of State Street look, it has gotten worse instead of better. Even Villa Italia can't help the city.
There is gafitti everywhere, the housing is in shambles. The taxes are out of control. There are bumbs and undersirable everywhere. The crime is also out of control. (with corrupts cops) There are empty buildings everywhere. Drugs and prostitutes and plentiful. There are no jobs to speak of. And more than half of the cities population is on a government program. Hence, a loss in the tax base. And there are more multifamily homes and two families than you can keep count of with outdated enforcment codes on the books. The city council is a spineless dictatorship with no direction for the people. Only for themselves. And the county legislature is equally as shamefull.
And they wonder why there are so many sex offenders living in their city. Simple...the pickin's are good there! No body gives a damn! We can't let this happen to our counties. We, the people, have got to make our voices heard. Let's do what we did July 31st!! We did it then and we can do it again!!!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
As a parent involved with the Capital District Youth for Christ [YFC], I am compelled to speak on Commissioner Wayne Bennett’s comment in your Aug. 24 paper. Again, someone has to find the negative in one of the few positive aspects of Hamilton Hill. Mr. Bennett should have been out to see what YFC was accomplishing with these children, instead of responding in such a negative manner. How are we to teach our children to not be judgmental when we have a key public figure judging without all the information? In his response, Mr. Bennett asks, “What will happen after YFC leaves?” YFC has been an integral part of Hamilton Hill, and has offered, to many children and their families, a solid foundation that is based on the love of Jesus. With the help of volunteers from YFC, the children of Hamilton Hill have a chance of not becoming gang members, drug dealers, etc. The YFC is a blessing to the residents of Hamilton Hill, and we should find more ways to encourage the positive activities they do with the children instead of judging them based on one activity. Personally speaking from a parental point of view, I would rather see a child with a can of spray paint than a gun. This is not to say that destroying someone’s property is all right, but if you were to look around Hamilton Hill and other neighborhoods, you would see that much of the graffiti done is by gang members or wannabe gang members. The buildings are covered with gang symbols and signs, and nothing at all to do with Jesus. To the staff and volunteers of the Capital District Youth For Christ, there are many of us who know of the wonderful job you are doing with the children. Keep up the good work. Don’t let the negatives get you down. MICHELE R. BERGERON Schenectady
Personally speaking from a parental point of view, I would rather see a child with a can of spray paint than a gun.
Come on there Shelly, in case you didn't know THEY ARE BOTH CRIMES!!! You don't get to pick the crime. That's like saying you'd rather have people beat the hell out of someone than murder them.
Shadow...you hit it right on the head there kiddo....'you can't cure stupid'!!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Or how about this one...'I voted for Mr/s X, cause s/he was the lesser of two evils'! I think that is my all time favorite. Someone is actually saying that 2 people, entities, idiologies, or what ever are BOTH evil...so I'll just pick the lesser of the 2.
People, when we are faced with that decision....rule of thumb is that you DO NOT vote for either! REALLY!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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