Crackdown on Graffiti
Coaster Photo
This graffiti on a business in Bradley Beach is visible from Memorial Drive.
By JOANNE L. PAPAIANNI
Graffiti has a way of growing, said Bradley Beach Mayor Stephen Schueler, as he urged business owners to cover up the crude drawings as soon as they appear.
At last weeks Borough Council meeting, teenage resident Brett Cotler of Monmouth Avenue asked the council to be more aggressive with the problem, citing a Fourth Avenue business painted with graffiti that can be seen from Memorial Drive.
Coaster Photo
A worker (at right) paints over some of the graffiti on a Bradley Beach business.
Police Chief Leonard Guida said he sent an officer to the building to ask them to cover it up.
But I cant break their arm to do it, said Guida.
Schueler said, Maybe public works should cover it up and bill the business owner. Graffiti must be covered up or it has a way of growing it expands.
The mayor also said it does not appear to be gang related, but there has been some discussion and speculation that it may be the same artist who has been targeting sites from Manasquan to Asbury Park.
The mayor said he is hoping business owners will take the initiative to cover graffiti as soon as it appears.
Cooperation is much better than coercion, he said.
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