DOT Begins Cleanup Of BQE After Complaints Over Graffiti
by Paul Menchaca, Western Queens Editor

The state Department of Transportation has begun a cleanup of a Woodside-portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, after Borough President Helen Marshall complained about its graffiti deterioration.
The DOT responded by painting over the graffiti stains on the retaining walls of the BQE at 31st Avenue and 68th Street. A protective coating will be placed on the paint later this month.

This portion of the highway has yet to be opened, as the DOT continues its $245-million reconstruction project on three bridges and six miles of retaining walls from 25th Avenue to Broadway.
“The graffiti vandalism committed on the BQE was extensive and horrific,” Marshall said. She thanked state DOT Commissioner Joseph Boardman for responding quickly to the request for the cleanup.
Police have vowed to increase surveillance of the area after being requested to do so by DOT officials. Queens North Police Chief James Tuller informed Marshall that each precinct will collect data to determine its top five areas vandalized by graffiti.
The city Department of Transportation has also been working with the state DOT to find new anti-graffiti paint coatings.
City officials began working aggressively on an ant-graffiti campaign, targeting residential and commercial buildings. The goal of the campaign was to curb long-term negative impacts on quality of life stemming from the build-up of graffiti on properties.
In January of 2003, Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed two laws—one that toughened penalties for repeat offenders of graffiti, while the other one attempts to make it more difficult for minors to buy acid etching cream. The latter one makes the sale of the cream to any person under the age of 18 a class-B misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500 and/or up to a three-month jail sentence.
This puts the crime into the same category as spray paint and broad-tipped markers.
The BQE project was supposed to be completed by September, but now will not likely be finished until the end of the year.