Businesses Marred by Graffiti
September 1, 2005

Complaints About Series of Incidents Occur in Archer Heights

By YVETTE PRESBERRY

Graffiti is consistently marring businesses and homes in Archer Heights.

Claudette Zarzycki of Zarzycki Manor Chapels, 5088 S. Archer Ave., said that she has regularly called the City of Chicago to clean spray-painted graffiti from her funeral business.

“For a while now, we were hit every week,” Zarzycki said.

The graffiti marks are often illegible, but can denote a link to a gang or criminal group. The marks can signify a group’s gang name, symbols or the territory they allege belongs to them.

Other business and homes along Archer Avenue have also been struck by spray-paint messages and letters that deface the properties.

For Zarzycki, the defacement of the property means more to Claudette Zarzycki’s parents, who live above the funeral home.

“It’s personal,” she said.

Also dealing with damaged property is Cook County Cmsr. Anthony Peraica (R-16th), who owns a law office at 5130 S. Archer Ave.

Upon passing the building, graffiti can be seen on top of faded spray-painted marks.

Peraica said that he has to tuck-point his building because the bricks are becoming damaged from overuse of Graffiti Blasters, the city’s department that gets rid of graffiti with special chemicals sprayed on at high pressure.

Peraica said that the marks on his law office has become so consistently bad that he considered re-locating to another area.

“It’s a real problem,” Peraica said.

He said the police have been notified, but since there are not any suspects available, there is not much law enforcement can do.

Ald. Michael Zalewski (23rd) said that he is aware of the problem, and is working with police to combat graffiti makers.

He said that he was not sure if it was gang members or just graffiti artists who have defaced property.