The Brooklyn Bridge is New York’s newest target for graffiti, but local tag artists say they’re not impressed.
Thousands of visitors write on the corrugated metal walls that are part of the bridge rehabilitation project, slated to end in 2014. There has been graffiti on the bridge before, but never this much; the metal walls are proving irresistible.
“It’s like doodles — no respected writer would view it as graffiti,” said a New York tagger who goes by the name “Genoe.”
“The Brooklyn Bridge is such a monumental structure, it’s an icon of New York,” said well-known graffiti writer “Dreamboat.” “If you’re gonna tag it, you have to do it justice.”
The rehabilitation project costs the city and federal government $508 million and will double the capacity of two ramps, replace rotting pavement and repaint steel to prevent corrosion.
“After all the work they did, I feel the Roeblings would be upset some tourists were writing their names on it,” said Dreamboat, referring to Brooklyn Bridge designer John Augustus Roebling and his son.
But British tourist Lee Watson, 28, was enchanted by the idea of leaving his mark on the 128-year-old structure. “I think it’s brilliant,” said Watson, “Our friends are coming next week, and wouldn’t it be nice if they said: ‘We saw your graffiti on the Brooklyn Bridge!’”
