Less than a year after N train platforms in Brooklyn were reopened following million-dollar renovations, graffiti has been found on at least six of them.
Various tags were seen on the walls of the Manhattan-bound platforms at New Utrecht Avenue, 18th Avenue, 20th Avenue, Bay Parkway, Kings Highway and 86th Street, which were closed for 14 months in 2016 and 2017 as part of the MTA’s $395.7 million renovations. The platforms reopened in May 2017.
The renovations included new paint, new stairs, brighter lighting and new artwork, according to the MTA.
Commuters along the N line Monday said the graffiti makes the stations look bad and that the MTA should cover it up.
“People have no respect,” said Maria Landro, 53, at the Bay Parkway station. “It’s just sad that people complain about the subway being dirty . . . Now they did something about it and look.”
The MTA routinely reports incidences of graffiti to police, spokesman Shams Tarek said. If police cannot respond quickly enough the MTA will preserve evidence by photographing the vandalism before removing it.
“Graffiti is scrubbed or painted over as necessary,” Tarek said.
However, the covering up the N line graffiti would be the responsibility of the contractors, Skanska and John P. Picone, Inc., while work continues, he said.
The issue isn’t unique to the train stations, said Nasim Sikander, 55.
“It’s not just the MTA who has to do something about it,” Sikander said at the Bay Parkway station. “It’s the whole city, they need to prosecute people who are doing this.”
Making graffiti on a building or other property is a misdemeanor under state law.
