Promises for the New Year

We wish all our readers, advertisers and staff a happy and healthy New Year.
In early July, The Queens Courier declared “War on Graffiti” and the punks who are ruining our borough and our neighborhoods with their clandestine vandalism of commercial, city and private properties.
We instituted our “Hall of Shame” and “Hall of Fame” photo feature opposite this editorial. If you see graffiti in your neighborhoods, whether it is fresh or long existing - take a photo and upload it directly at qns.com to Graffiti Hall of Shame at Multimedia Upload Photos. Send photos with the location and the owner of the property if known to you.
We will publish the worst in the “Hall of Shame,” so that some neighborhood clean-up group may be able to help. We will also call the location into 3-1-1. We will also send out your photos to the appropriate New York Police Department (NYPD) Precinct. There the precinct’s graffiti officer can use the centralized intelligence graffiti database to try to identify known graffiti vandals by their tags.
The NYPD has reinvigorated its reward program funded by the Police Foundation and now rewards of up to $500 will be awarded to anyone providing information leading to the arrest and conviction of graffiti vandals.
The best way to stop these nocturnal monsters who spread their blight through our city by the cover of darkness is to catch them in the act.
Call 9-1-1 if you observe a punk or punks in the act. Describe their clothing as accurately as possible. If the cops responding to the scene catch them in the act it is easier to prosecute them and make them pay for the property damage they have caused.
Call 3-1-1 to report fresh graffiti attacks.
The mayor’s office works closely with a team of city agencies to implement Graffiti Free NYC, a citywide effort to combat graffiti in our communities. The city offers free graffiti removal services to communities across the five boroughs.
Property owners or representatives may submit a waiver to the city to allow authorized personnel to clean graffiti from first- or second-story facades. You may call 3-1-1 for the forms or download and fill them out online.
We promise to bring you our own brand of award winning journalism, exclusives, and series such as the five part series, “Legacy of the Holocaust.”
We will continue to bring our unique coverage of your neighbors, schools, communities, the borough, the city and the state. We want you to look forward to every new edition of The Queens Courier and The Courier Sun for your weekly dose of stories of strength, courage, goodwill and character. “We Are All About You!”