Last week, the building at 1800 Decatur St. in Ridgewood, known in the community for its floor-to-roof murals covering the entire building, was defaced by an unknown graffiti artist.
The building is owned by Gil Meyerowitz Inc., a wholesale distributor of plumbing and heating supplies, which commissioned the murals in 2018 after the building was continually spray-painted in a similar fashion, and the community embraced them: particularly the stylized neighborhood’s name that became a common stopping point for photos.
The murals, painted by a local artist known as Vers, abated the problem for close to seven years, until property owners found a rope leading from a nearby tree onto the roof and discovered the markings. The mural in question depicts the American flag and a bald eagle, and though most of the artwork was the vandalizer’s own tags, one did include the words “F*** ICE” within it.
“We’re upset, we’re disgusted,” said Roseann Meyers, accountant at Gil Meyerowitz Inc. “I don’t know who it is. People that disrespect our country… and write this stuff on it.”
According to Vers, he pitched the idea to the owners after they approached him as a simple solution to stop fellow graffiti artists from tagging the building, as covering or defacing another’s artwork is considered taboo within the community. Meyers knows that the building’s roof is an easy target for vandalism and expressed gratitude that Vers was able to curb the graffitiing, as the Greater Ridgewood Council struggled with the volume of vandals.
“We would pay them and they would come and power wash it, paint it, whatever they could do,” Meyers said. “But it was just so excessive that they couldn’t even keep up with it anymore.”
Vers spent months painting the murals across the building and told the Ridgewood Times in 2018 that several community members approached him during the process to express gratitude for beautifying the “eyesore.”
“We all came up with an idea to do something that’s pro-American and pro-city with the Statue of Liberty and the country,” Vers said. “It’s a shame that it got disrespected. It’s probably a young kid that doesn’t realize… the extent of going over something like that.”
The artist is currently out of state visiting family, but says he will return to start work restoring the murals in January. Vers hopes he will be able to make contact with the vandals to educate them on the importance of respecting each other’s work as artists and the “iconic American symbols” the mural displayed, but emphasized that it was likely “nothing personal” to him or the business. If he weren’t out of town, Vers said he’d already be on the roof making the touch-ups.
“This is something that is important to the community and is important for people in the area. When I was painting them, families were stopping me, thanking me,” Vers said. There were neighbors across the street bringing me water, bringing me food… it was a really positive experience. It was amazing.”
