CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Police in Corpus Christi are ready to take their battle against graffiti to a new level with civil lawsuits against the parents of habitual taggers.
“We’re being bombarded,” DeAnna McQueen, graffiti task force coordinator for the police department, said. The department’s plans on suing are to be discussed by the City Council Tuesday night. McQueen said the suits would be only used in high-profile cases and in cases where judges don’t order restitution.
“It’s really got to be serious for us to use this,” she said in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
The city approved an ordinance two years ago that allows it to file civil lawsuits against the parents of those leaving behind the graffiti. The ordinance says the parent can be held liable if their children are found vandalizing property.
Police Commander Mark Schauer said he has seen instances where teenagers had more than 30 cases of graffiti. Police want to force the parents to take responsibility in cases like that.
“It doesn’t make any sense to let the parents off the hook,” he said. “If you want (police) to raise your child and clean up after your child, then you should reimburse us for that expense.”
Of the 107 people arrested for graffiti last year, 51 were juveniles. Fifty-eight people have been arrested so far this year with 36 of those being juveniles.
The lawsuits are backed by a number of groups, including the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Department of Transportation, the newspaper reported.
City Manager Angel Escobar wanted to see the council’s support before the policy begins, Schauer said.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Police in Corpus Christi are ready to take their battle against graffiti to a new level with civil lawsuits against the parents of habitual taggers.
“We’re being bombarded,” DeAnna McQueen, graffiti task force coordinator for the police department, said. The department’s plans on suing are to be discussed by the City Council Tuesday night. McQueen said the suits would be only used in high-profile cases and in cases where judges don’t order restitution.
“It’s really got to be serious for us to use this,” she said in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
The city approved an ordinance two years ago that allows it to file civil lawsuits against the parents of those leaving behind the graffiti. The ordinance says the parent can be held liable if their children are found vandalizing property.
Police Commander Mark Schauer said he has seen instances where teenagers had more than 30 cases of graffiti. Police want to force the parents to take responsibility in cases like that.
“It doesn’t make any sense to let the parents off the hook,” he said. “If you want (police) to raise your child and clean up after your child, then you should reimburse us for that expense.”
Of the 107 people arrested for graffiti last year, 51 were juveniles. Fifty-eight people have been arrested so far this year with 36 of those being juveniles.
The lawsuits are backed by a number of groups, including the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Department of Transportation, the newspaper reported.
City Manager Angel Escobar wanted to see the council’s support before the policy begins, Schauer said.
I remember when IZ (IKE 327) started bombing with VINNY (FI-2, FAIN)) and one of his mentors CIPPY (PI-2). I was just a kid, back in 1974, still surface bombing, buses, no trains until ’76 for me. But I watched the trains like a hawk since 1972. By then IZ had already solidified his legacy in the annals of graffiti lore and origins, for the future to bear witness.
I stayed with him at his place when he lived on Rockaway beach, a small room near the slabs where beach bums tossed basketballs. We ate Captain Crunch and Trix out of a box, no milk. He came over and stayed the night at my house in the bedroom community of Jackson Heights the night before I showed him the Varsity School bus yard and the Triborough Coach yard. Instead of hitting them, he patted me on the back and noted that no one was going to hit those the way I did since I lived across the street. He also mentioned to me that he too had that same advantage with the entire IND division, originating in the gigantic A Yards. We did a few throwies on the garage walls in consolation.
We took the trains into uptown Manhattan instead and had a few Schlitz’s (Blue Bulls) in a park somewhere up in the 70’s or 80’s as I recall. We sat there with SIR from TKC; also possibly present were RIP, EKO, ROS and maybe VEIN TKC at the time, and that was where I told him that I always wanted to see him hit with more of the IKE 327’s, that I loved the power of that name. He explained to me that with a two-letter name as powerful as IZ, the name Ike (short for Mike), was no longer in use. I learned from him that night that PI-2 was his influence in a lot of ways as well as a short-lived partner. He always referred to him as “CIPPY” and not as PI. VINNY, another legend often overlooked, was IZ’s friend as well as nemesis. Queens had it’s power-team right there in those three guys.
Some of his greatest days ever, in his element, were spent with MIN, BILROCK, QUIK, and most of all, SACH. This was when IZ took on membership with the RTW (Rolling Thunder Writers). He did the most work with them in the early 80’s.
Prior to that, in the late 70’s, he was perhaps the strongest contributor to the TMB Crew. This was a lower-East-side crew (Manhattan) who had powerful membership and contribution from the likes of CAZ (CY), PEOPLE-2 or CISCO (PEO), and WEO. the President of TMB. IZ eventually took over the TMB position due to simply out-writing everyone else for a longer period and by sheer numbers and longevity. This of course was respectfully bestowed upon him by WEO. This period was 1976 – 1978, when I first started hitting the trains with TPA and BTC. IZ was now living in lower Manhattan for a short while, getting friendly with the residents there in TMB as well as the The Fab 5, (THE great LEE Quinones), and positioning himself in the world of early MTV fame as well as with the burgeoning art crowd. This was the very beginning of recognizing graffiti as a legitimate art form. IZ was there from the beginning, checking out the galleries and hanging with the players. In fact, IZ was there at the beginning of many things in this culture that was still in it’s infancy. He was’n’t much for clubbing, but he did hang with Debbie Harry, Fab 5 Freddy and other denizens (myself included) of the fabled Mudd Club.
When the TMB crew started attacking the monstrous and metro-chic IND’s, (E’s, F’s and A’s (IZ’s homeline), there was a hot race between TMB, TPA, TOP, The Union, NCB and BTC as well as independent writers. EX-1, ROTO, SNAC, JEE-2, USE 2, IZ, JOEY TPA (RC), DEMO, Nasty NA, UN-1, MICKEY (TO), VADE, JESTER, CEY, VINNY (who would later make a comeback on the IND’s 10 years in the future), MINGO, EASY, and many more. I can say that no one crew won that race at the time, but I think in retrospect, we all did what we had to do. Later on, RTW and QUIK would appear on the IND’s, nudging TPA, NCB and TMB aside. IZ was present for that historical event also, he remained with RTW never putting down the RTW or TMB mantle. He was their bearer of the torch and will forever be remembered by me that way. IZ never went to crews, they came to him. In his very beginning, for a brief time, P.O.G. would appear after his plainly scrawled “I” “Z”‘ s. He dropped that soon and went on to become the ultimate independant writer. While many crews may claim him, he stood alone. He was IZ the WIZ.
Unlike so many of the contemporary writers and artists today who call themselves kings, I can tell you this: In all my days, which started in 1972 as a young kid still in my toy era and still in elementary school, until 1976 when I hit my first train, to the days of the early 80’s when I quit, I have NEVER EVER heard IZ the WIZ go on and on about himself being a “king”. I think I saw him write the word maybe twice or three times in his entire career. That would be at least 35 years as I know it. As far as talking about it, rarely ever if at all, did he spout off about how he was the most up or king. He let his actions speak louder than his words and 35 years later, I can say he was the truth. He put Queens, NY forever in the record books as having produced the most prolific writer of all time. The graffiti community as a whole and every borough and writer alive today should pay their homage to this interesting individual, this person who dedicated himself and his life to this thing we call graffiti. Mike Martin had this thing called humility; personally, I always felt that he should have been on the cover of Rolling Stone or The Village Voice.
I remember talking on the phone with Mike a few months ago and he was upbeat, the same old gruff, “Noo-Yawk” guy I remembered from years gone by long ago. He had moved to Florida for better weather. He was himself, the old man, the torch-bearer, the quiet legend who stood for graf in all it’s purity still the tough, grizzled old war-horse I remembered from 1978 like it was only yesterday. He said to me, “Joey, I can’t believe I made it this long”. I think he meant in graffiti but moreso in his personal life. He also said to me that he felt that maybe it was the graffiti life and the paint fumes themselves that had done him in, ultimately. He told me that he would have given up all the graffiti he had ever done for his health in exchange. I was floored by that and realized that this was a man talking to me about how he would sacrifice all that work and years of effort and energy to gain back what is most precious of all – his health and good life. He told me that he had loved only a few women in his life and remembered those as the best times and reasons to be alive. Not the graffiti, but the life outside of it. I was struck at once by the fact that we will remember this legend as IZ the WIZ, graffiti wrtiter, but that in his own personal world, in his own inside thoughts, he was still a man seeking what we all seek – personal rest, tranquility and contentment.
Had this been some other writer, I would have thought this was nonsense. But this was the living legend, IZ the WIZ admitting this to me. From the tens of thousands of thro-ups he did in the confines of countless layups, I had to consider and ultimately agree with him that maybe it was his passion for the sport that took him down. He was the ultimate.
Ultimately though, like any great athlete, if you die doing what you loved and were great at, then it’s all good. Even past his “prime”, IZ was omnipotent and he went down swinging like only a true champion and genuine warrior will do. He was always willing to learn, always willing to share with the right people. He kept his secrets also – as all masters should.
IZ my friend, I will always remember you as the most-up, greatest student and applicator of the no-nonsense way you did things. In a day and age where it has become an art, a muralisitc myriad of commercialism, I will remember you as being the absolute king of “getting up”, hands down, when it was still dirty, raw and adolescent. Everywhere I went, be it 20 stories down, or 50 stories up, East, West, North and South, you were there. The King of New York City – IZ The WIZ.
I remember when IZ (IKE 327) started bombing with VINNY (FI-2, FAIN)) and one of his mentors CIPPY (PI-2). I was just a kid, back in 1974, still surface bombing, buses, no trains until ’76 for me. But I watched the trains like a hawk since 1972. By then IZ had already solidified his legacy in the annals of graffiti lore and origins, for the future to bear witness.
I stayed with him at his place when he lived on Rockaway beach, a small room near the slabs where beach bums tossed basketballs. We ate Captain Crunch and Trix out of a box, no milk. He came over and stayed the night at my house in the bedroom community of Jackson Heights the night before I showed him the Varsity School bus yard and the Triborough Coach yard. Instead of hitting them, he patted me on the back and noted that no one was going to hit those the way I did since I lived across the street. He also mentioned to me that he too had that same advantage with the entire IND division, originating in the gigantic A Yards. We did a few throwies on the garage walls in consolation.
We took the trains into uptown Manhattan instead and had a few Schlitz’s (Blue Bulls) in a park somewhere up in the 70’s or 80’s as I recall. We sat there with SIR from TKC; also possibly present were RIP, EKO, ROS and maybe VEIN TKC at the time, and that was where I told him that I always wanted to see him hit with more of the IKE 327’s, that I loved the power of that name. He explained to me that with a two-letter name as powerful as IZ, the name Ike (short for Mike), was no longer in use. I learned from him that night that PI-2 was his influence in a lot of ways as well as a short-lived partner. He always referred to him as “CIPPY” and not as PI. VINNY, another legend often overlooked, was IZ’s friend as well as nemesis. Queens had it’s power-team right there in those three guys.
Some of his greatest days ever, in his element, were spent with MIN, BILROCK, QUIK, and most of all, SACH. This was when IZ took on membership with the RTW (Rolling Thunder Writers). He did the most work with them in the early 80’s.
Prior to that, in the late 70’s, he was perhaps the strongest contributor to the TMB Crew. This was a lower-East-side crew (Manhattan) who had powerful membership and contribution from the likes of CAZ (CY), PEOPLE-2 or CISCO (PEO), and WEO. the President of TMB. IZ eventually took over the TMB position due to simply out-writing everyone else for a longer period and by sheer numbers and longevity. This of course was respectfully bestowed upon him by WEO. This period was 1976 – 1978, when I first started hitting the trains with TPA and BTC. IZ was now living in lower Manhattan for a short while, getting friendly with the residents there in TMB as well as the The Fab 5, (THE great LEE Quinones), and positioning himself in the world of early MTV fame as well as with the burgeoning art crowd. This was the very beginning of recognizing graffiti as a legitimate art form. IZ was there from the beginning, checking out the galleries and hanging with the players. In fact, IZ was there at the beginning of many things in this culture that was still in it’s infancy. He was’n’t much for clubbing, but he did hang with Debbie Harry, Fab 5 Freddy and other denizens (myself included) of the fabled Mudd Club.
When the TMB crew started attacking the monstrous and metro-chic IND’s, (E’s, F’s and A’s (IZ’s homeline), there was a hot race between TMB, TPA, TOP, The Union, NCB and BTC as well as independent writers. EX-1, ROTO, SNAC, JEE-2, USE 2, IZ, JOEY TPA (RC), DEMO, Nasty NA, UN-1, MICKEY (TO), VADE, JESTER, CEY, VINNY (who would later make a comeback on the IND’s 10 years in the future), MINGO, EASY, and many more. I can say that no one crew won that race at the time, but I think in retrospect, we all did what we had to do. Later on, RTW and QUIK would appear on the IND’s, nudging TPA, NCB and TMB aside. IZ was present for that historical event also, he remained with RTW never putting down the RTW or TMB mantle. He was their bearer of the torch and will forever be remembered by me that way. IZ never went to crews, they came to him. In his very beginning, for a brief time, P.O.G. would appear after his plainly scrawled “I” “Z”‘ s. He dropped that soon and went on to become the ultimate independant writer. While many crews may claim him, he stood alone. He was IZ the WIZ.
Unlike so many of the contemporary writers and artists today who call themselves kings, I can tell you this: In all my days, which started in 1972 as a young kid still in my toy era and still in elementary school, until 1976 when I hit my first train, to the days of the early 80’s when I quit, I have NEVER EVER heard IZ the WIZ go on and on about himself being a “king”. I think I saw him write the word maybe twice or three times in his entire career. That would be at least 35 years as I know it. As far as talking about it, rarely ever if at all, did he spout off about how he was the most up or king. He let his actions speak louder than his words and 35 years later, I can say he was the truth. He put Queens, NY forever in the record books as having produced the most prolific writer of all time. The graffiti community as a whole and every borough and writer alive today should pay their homage to this interesting individual, this person who dedicated himself and his life to this thing we call graffiti. Mike Martin had this thing called humility; personally, I always felt that he should have been on the cover of Rolling Stone or The Village Voice.
I remember talking on the phone with Mike a few months ago and he was upbeat, the same old gruff, “Noo-Yawk” guy I remembered from years gone by long ago. He had moved to Florida for better weather. He was himself, the old man, the torch-bearer, the quiet legend who stood for graf in all it’s purity still the tough, grizzled old war-horse I remembered from 1978 like it was only yesterday. He said to me, “Joey, I can’t believe I made it this long”. I think he meant in graffiti but moreso in his personal life. He also said to me that he felt that maybe it was the graffiti life and the paint fumes themselves that had done him in, ultimately. He told me that he would have given up all the graffiti he had ever done for his health in exchange. I was floored by that and realized that this was a man talking to me about how he would sacrifice all that work and years of effort and energy to gain back what is most precious of all – his health and good life. He told me that he had loved only a few women in his life and remembered those as the best times and reasons to be alive. Not the graffiti, but the life outside of it. I was struck at once by the fact that we will remember this legend as IZ the WIZ, graffiti wrtiter, but that in his own personal world, in his own inside thoughts, he was still a man seeking what we all seek – personal rest, tranquility and contentment.
Had this been some other writer, I would have thought this was nonsense. But this was the living legend, IZ the WIZ admitting this to me. From the tens of thousands of thro-ups he did in the confines of countless layups, I had to consider and ultimately agree with him that maybe it was his passion for the sport that took him down. He was the ultimate.
Ultimately though, like any great athlete, if you die doing what you loved and were great at, then it’s all good. Even past his “prime”, IZ was omnipotent and he went down swinging like only a true champion and genuine warrior will do. He was always willing to learn, always willing to share with the right people. He kept his secrets also – as all masters should.
IZ my friend, I will always remember you as the most-up, greatest student and applicator of the no-nonsense way you did things. In a day and age where it has become an art, a muralisitc myriad of commercialism, I will remember you as being the absolute king of “getting up”, hands down, when it was still dirty, raw and adolescent. Everywhere I went, be it 20 stories down, or 50 stories up, East, West, North and South, you were there. The King of New York City – IZ The WIZ.
I remember when IZ (IKE 327) started bombing with VINNY (FI-2, FAIN)) and one of his mentors CIPPY (PI-2). I was just a kid, back in 1974, still surface bombing, buses, no trains until ’76 for me. But I watched the trains like a hawk since 1972. By then IZ had already solidified his legacy in the annals of graffiti lore and origins, for the future to bear witness.
I stayed with him at his place when he lived on Rockaway beach, a small room near the slabs where beach bums tossed basketballs. We ate Captain Crunch and Trix out of a box, no milk. He came over and stayed the night at my house in the bedroom community of Jackson Heights the night before I showed him the Varsity School bus yard and the Triborough Coach yard. Instead of hitting them, he patted me on the back and noted that no one was going to hit those the way I did since I lived across the street. He also mentioned to me that he too had that same advantage with the entire IND division, originating in the gigantic A Yards. We did a few throwies on the garage walls in consolation.
We took the trains into uptown Manhattan instead and had a few Schlitz’s (Blue Bulls) in a park somewhere up in the 70’s or 80’s as I recall. We sat there with SIR from TKC; also possibly present were RIP, EKO, ROS and maybe VEIN TKC at the time, and that was where I told him that I always wanted to see him hit with more of the IKE 327’s, that I loved the power of that name. He explained to me that with a two-letter name as powerful as IZ, the name Ike (short for Mike), was no longer in use. I learned from him that night that PI-2 was his influence in a lot of ways as well as a short-lived partner. He always referred to him as “CIPPY” and not as PI. VINNY, another legend often overlooked, was IZ’s friend as well as nemesis. Queens had it’s power-team right there in those three guys.
Some of his greatest days ever, in his element, were spent with MIN, BILROCK, QUIK, and most of all, SACH. This was when IZ took on membership with the RTW (Rolling Thunder Writers). He did the most work with them in the early 80’s.
Prior to that, in the late 70’s, he was perhaps the strongest contributor to the TMB Crew. This was a lower-East-side crew (Manhattan) who had powerful membership and contribution from the likes of CAZ (CY), PEOPLE-2 or CISCO (PEO), and WEO. the President of TMB. IZ eventually took over the TMB position due to simply out-writing everyone else for a longer period and by sheer numbers and longevity. This of course was respectfully bestowed upon him by WEO. This period was 1976 – 1978, when I first started hitting the trains with TPA and BTC. IZ was now living in lower Manhattan for a short while, getting friendly with the residents there in TMB as well as the The Fab 5, (THE great LEE Quinones), and positioning himself in the world of early MTV fame as well as with the burgeoning art crowd. This was the very beginning of recognizing graffiti as a legitimate art form. IZ was there from the beginning, checking out the galleries and hanging with the players. In fact, IZ was there at the beginning of many things in this culture that was still in it’s infancy. He was’n’t much for clubbing, but he did hang with Debbie Harry, Fab 5 Freddy and other denizens (myself included) of the fabled Mudd Club.
When the TMB crew started attacking the monstrous and metro-chic IND’s, (E’s, F’s and A’s (IZ’s homeline), there was a hot race between TMB, TPA, TOP, The Union, NCB and BTC as well as independent writers. EX-1, ROTO, SNAC, JEE-2, USE 2, IZ, JOEY TPA (RC), DEMO, Nasty NA, UN-1, MICKEY (TO), VADE, JESTER, CEY, VINNY (who would later make a comeback on the IND’s 10 years in the future), MINGO, EASY, and many more. I can say that no one crew won that race at the time, but I think in retrospect, we all did what we had to do. Later on, RTW and QUIK would appear on the IND’s, nudging TPA, NCB and TMB aside. IZ was present for that historical event also, he remained with RTW never putting down the RTW or TMB mantle. He was their bearer of the torch and will forever be remembered by me that way. IZ never went to crews, they came to him. In his very beginning, for a brief time, P.O.G. would appear after his plainly scrawled “I” “Z”‘ s. He dropped that soon and went on to become the ultimate independant writer. While many crews may claim him, he stood alone. He was IZ the WIZ.
Unlike so many of the contemporary writers and artists today who call themselves kings, I can tell you this: In all my days, which started in 1972 as a young kid still in my toy era and still in elementary school, until 1976 when I hit my first train, to the days of the early 80’s when I quit, I have NEVER EVER heard IZ the WIZ go on and on about himself being a “king”. I think I saw him write the word maybe twice or three times in his entire career. That would be at least 35 years as I know it. As far as talking about it, rarely ever if at all, did he spout off about how he was the most up or king. He let his actions speak louder than his words and 35 years later, I can say he was the truth. He put Queens, NY forever in the record books as having produced the most prolific writer of all time. The graffiti community as a whole and every borough and writer alive today should pay their homage to this interesting individual, this person who dedicated himself and his life to this thing we call graffiti. Mike Martin had this thing called humility; personally, I always felt that he should have been on the cover of Rolling Stone or The Village Voice.
I remember talking on the phone with Mike a few months ago and he was upbeat, the same old gruff, “Noo-Yawk” guy I remembered from years gone by long ago. He had moved to Florida for better weather. He was himself, the old man, the torch-bearer, the quiet legend who stood for graf in all it’s purity still the tough, grizzled old war-horse I remembered from 1978 like it was only yesterday. He said to me, “Joey, I can’t believe I made it this long”. I think he meant in graffiti but moreso in his personal life. He also said to me that he felt that maybe it was the graffiti life and the paint fumes themselves that had done him in, ultimately. He told me that he would have given up all the graffiti he had ever done for his health in exchange. I was floored by that and realized that this was a man talking to me about how he would sacrifice all that work and years of effort and energy to gain back what is most precious of all – his health and good life. He told me that he had loved only a few women in his life and remembered those as the best times and reasons to be alive. Not the graffiti, but the life outside of it. I was struck at once by the fact that we will remember this legend as IZ the WIZ, graffiti wrtiter, but that in his own personal world, in his own inside thoughts, he was still a man seeking what we all seek – personal rest, tranquility and contentment.
Had this been some other writer, I would have thought this was nonsense. But this was the living legend, IZ the WIZ admitting this to me. From the tens of thousands of thro-ups he did in the confines of countless layups, I had to consider and ultimately agree with him that maybe it was his passion for the sport that took him down. He was the ultimate.
Ultimately though, like any great athlete, if you die doing what you loved and were great at, then it’s all good. Even past his “prime”, IZ was omnipotent and he went down swinging like only a true champion and genuine warrior will do. He was always willing to learn, always willing to share with the right people. He kept his secrets also – as all masters should.
IZ my friend, I will always remember you as the most-up, greatest student and applicator of the no-nonsense way you did things. In a day and age where it has become an art, a muralisitc myriad of commercialism, I will remember you as being the absolute king of “getting up”, hands down, when it was still dirty, raw and adolescent. Everywhere I went, be it 20 stories down, or 50 stories up, East, West, North and South, you were there. The King of New York City – IZ The WIZ.
Street Level Nine's Weblog 