The Bronx Ink

Bronx Senator Jeffrey Klein of the 34th District is proposing an anti-bullying bill in response to the spate of online suicides caused by online bullying, reports amNewYork.

The most recent incident involved the suicide of a 14-year-old Buffalo teen, who had received hateful messages online.

The proposed bill by the Democratic senator on anti-cyberbullying could land offenders behind bars for 15 years.

Senator Klein's message resonated with his brightly dressed supporters. (Photo: Astrid Baez/The Bronx Ink)

Clad in fire engine red T-shirts that evoked the spray paint they despise, residents joined a state senator on Friday afternoon in pledging to send a strong message to vandals who tag buildings.

Calling themselves Court Watchers, these residents are part of a new initiative backed by Sen. Jeffrey D. Klein to eliminate graffiti across the Bronx. Tired of unauthorized street art, the group is taking a more aggressive stance in advocating tougher penalties and jail sentences for offenders.  The plan is simple — watchers will sit in on graffiti cases wearing T-shirts and buttons that illustrate their message: Vandalism is not art.

“Graffiti to our homes, businesses and places of worship causes emotional and in many ways financial distress and is too serious a crime to allow vandals to get away with a slap on the wrist,” Klein said in an official statement.

Although talks for the program began early in October 2009 when Klein met with civic leaders from the Waterbury-LaSalle and Pelham Bay communities, the senator has made cleaning the streets of graffiti a “top priority” for the past 16 years. In 2005, he launched the Graffiti Cleaning Program, which created a hotline for constituents of the 34^th Senate District to request the removal of graffiti from their neighborhoods.

Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson’s office estimates that since January, there have been 17 violations of the city’s anti-graffiti laws. People caught in the act of graffiti or in possession of aerosol spray cans, sketching tools and even a Sharpie, with “intent” to damage property were considered to be in violation. Defendants were charged as adults and 13 of those cases resulted in guilty pleas, with one defendant serving a jail sentence. In New York City, a maximum sentence for repeat offenders is 15 days incarceration, while first-time offenders are commonly sanctioned fines of up to $250 per incident or community service.

According to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the majority of vandals are tried as first-time offenders with as little as 5 percent actually serving jail time. “It’s probably not a first offense, but simply the first time they were caught,” said Mary Jane Musano, chairwoman of the Ways and Means Committee of the Waterbury-LaSalle Community Association and a resident of the Bronx. “When they disrespect the community, they have to know they’ll be punished.”

Musano believes that graffiti vandalism is once again on the rise and that residents could use the court’s help in putting a stop to it and vice versa. A longtime supporter of the “Adopt-a-Mailbox” campaign, in which residents paint over tagged mailboxes, Musano looks forward to a more aggressive clean-up process. “Senator Klein’s backing is the missing puzzle-piece needed to make this happen,” she said.

Last week, Klein sent clean-up crews to nearly two dozen locations across the Bronx and Westchester County to remove tags from overpasses, railroad bridges and buildings in what was termed a “spring-cleaning effort.”

While Klein agrees that jail time for vandals would cost the city money, he also believes the damage done to the community is are far more costly. According to Klein, financing for clean-ups comes straight from taxpayer’s wallets and is hurtful to the economy and livelihood of the neighborhoods.

“No one will want to live or work in a neighborhood with such an eyesore,” said Joe Bombace, a Bronx resident for nearly 58 years. “Don’t come into our community and deface our homes,” he said.

Not everyone agrees with the senator’s backing of this project. Anthony Aharon, a former resident of the Bronx and freelance graphic artist, sees graffiti as a protest against a system that is already failing the community. “It’s a way to relieve stress, a form of self-expression,” he said. Though Aharon works on commissioned projects, he thinks that jailing people who are caught tagging walls should be considered a violation of First Amendment rights. “Graffiti is another way of talking and being heard,” he said.

Aharon still carries his graffiti tools in his bag.

Article by Astrid Baez, Video by Shreeya Sinha

In a press conference today in the Bronx, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Sen. Jeffrey D. Klein announced the introduction of a law that would forbid New Yorkers from carrying a gun while intoxicated.

“If you’re too intoxicated to drive a car, you are obviously too intoxicated to be carrying a gun,” Bloomberg said.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein proposed ban on “Carrying While Intoxicated”

Hailing the law as “life saving” and “common sense,” Bloomberg called on legislators and Gov. David Paterson to support the initiative, stating that New York is hardly the first state to enact this law. If passed, the law would make New York the 21st state to prohibit carrying a gun while intoxicated, citing it as a Class A misdemeanor punishable by one year in jail and a $10,000 fine. According to the mayor, the law would apply the same standards and tests that are currently in place to prevent and punish drunken driving.

Bloomberg and Klein denounced the mix of guns and alcohol as deadly. “The time is now for us to get serious about penalties for those who choose to carry a gun while intoxicated,” Klein said.

The announcement comes a little over a week after the mayor touted the success of the guns-for-cash program in the Bronx. Gloria Cruz, the Bronx chapter leader of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, praised the mayor’s announcement, calling it a step in the right direction. Cruz, whose 10-year-old niece was killed in 2005, left her job in corporate America and devoted her time to getting guns off the streets.

Some Bronx residents agree. Tony, a car-washer at Hand Wash in Bronxdale who refused to give his last name, shares Cruz’s sentiment, stating that anything that can be done to restrict the use of guns was good for the Bronx. “It’s logical,” he said of the mayor’s plan. “You can’t drive drunk, you shouldn’t be carrying a firearm when drunk either.”

Tom King, president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, opposes the plan, saying that New York State has enough gun-control laws. “Legislators should worry about enforcing laws that are already in the books,” he said. King described the mayor’s crusade as cracking down on legal and lawful gun owners, rather than cracking down on gun violence. “This is just another move on the mayor’s part to get his name in the papers,” King said.

Officials assured New Yorkers that the bill would not be in violation of their Second Amendment rights. Instead, these rights would now come with greater responsibilities. “This has nothing to do with the Second Amendment and everything to do with public safety,” said John Feinblatt, the mayor’s criminal justice coordinator. “This is a way to prevent accidents from happening that can’t be taken back, or a death that should’ve never happened.”

When it comes to guns, Bloomberg’s message is simple, if you’re going to drink, don’t leave home with it.