Bohemia resident tired of seeing graffiti
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Graffiti on a vacant building was painted over after Anthony Persico complained about the neighborhood eyesore.
Newsday photo by Karen Wiles Stabile
live in Bohemia and there’s a large amount of graffiti at an unoccupied store along the south side of Sunrise Highway. It’s an eyesore and is visible from the busy road. The owner has been notified, but the graffiti is still there. Is there anything we can do?
--Anthony Persico, Bohemia
Within a week of our call, the property owners - Sid Farber Enterprises Medford - sent a crew to paint over the graffiti facing Sunrise Highway.
The property has been a magnet for graffiti since the store became vacant last year, officials said. They said they’ve covered up the spray paint multiple times.
“I’ve honestly lost count already,” said property manager John Donnelly of the paint jobs. “We cover it up and a few weeks later it’s back. I blame the parents. They don't teach their children respect for other people’s property.”
Although the owners have been attentive to the problem, there is no town code requriing storeowners to clean graffiti because that would “punish owners who are victims of a crime,” town officials said. Instead, the town “encourages” owners to clean affected areas as soon as possible.
Michael R. Ebert
