Guardian Angels stand ready to clean up alleged gang graffiti that’s sending what they say is a dangerous message in Greenport.
During their last two patrols of the village, members found a wide swath of graffiti splashed on a business located in the vicinity of 8th street, near the railroad tracks.
The Guardian Angels took photos of what they discovered, which were sent to Southold Town police.
Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley said officers were sent to the site to photograph the graffiti; he showed the photos to a gang unit at headquarters, who are examining what was uncovered.
As for cleanup, Flatley said graffiti is typically cleaned up by the owner of the building, whose responsibility it is to remove the markings.
One employee in the area, when asked about the graffiti, asked not to be named but said there was no graffiti problem in the community said the “Guardian Angels should go back to New York.”
So far, the graffiti remains — creating a potentially explosive situation, according to Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels.
Sliwa said the graffiti must be dealt with and removed immediately to avoid fanning the fires of gang activity.
MS-13 gang tags defacing an Elton Street building in Riverhead recently were quickly cleaned up, Sliwa said, adding that Greenport should handle the situation in exactly the same way.
“Recently, the Riverhead police dealt with a case of Ms-13 graffiti with a quick arrest. That is the correct way. Move fast, find the vandal or vandals, arrest and publicly humiliate them by letting them know that the Village of Greenport has a zero tolerance toward vandalism and grafitti,” he said.
The offenders, who tried to flee the scene, were caught the same night by Riverhead police.
Sliwa said authorities, after graffiti has been found, should photograph the scene, catalogue the photos, and share the information with Riverhead, as gangs traffic frequently back and forth between the neighboring towns.
“It must be dealt with seriously,” Sliwa said. “Gangs mark their turf this way. If the competing gang
crosses it out before it’s removed that will set up a future confrontation.”
The graffiti also instills terror in some, he said. “The immigrant community sees it and it reminds them of the gang-infested towns that they left. It empowers the gang and strengthens them locally. It’s like having a permanent recruitment sign in place that kids get curious about. It must come down within a day of its discovery.”
Sliwa added that if the property owner and police were unable to remove the Greenport graffiti, “We as Guardian Angels would be more than happy to clean it up ”
According to Benjamin Garcia, patrol leader for the Guardian Angels in Greenport, the graffiti was found on a trailer, and read “666”. According to multiple sources, the “666” tag is sometimes used by the 18th Street gang.
“We do get a variety of graffiti complaints over the course of the year, some are just tags of a graffiti artists’s work, some are simply symbols of favorite bands — but some are definitely associated with gang symbols and gangs marking their territory,” said Flatley.
“We have seen the ‘666’ tag in the past in different parks in Greenport, so this may be an older graffiti marking, and yes, that symbol was associated with the 18th Street gang. We investigate every report of graffiti sightings in town and document them by photographing and maintaining a file with all of these photos, which will assist with our investigations,” Flatley said.
Steven Lundquist, commanding officer of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office Gang Intelligence Unit, said the symbol is also used as a sign of the devil.
Meanwhile, the Guardian Angels will be welcoming two new local recruits, teens who said recently that they’re happy to join the effort, which they believe is critical to keeping the streets safe.
Recently, while on patrol, Benjamin Garcia, who heads up the Greenport Guardian Angels group, was approached by two Greenport teens, whose families have deep roots in the community; the young men signed up to join the patrol and will be starting this weekend. Both told SoutholdLOCAL that they and their families welcomed the Guardian Angels in the village.
