Getting caught up

Graffiti epidemic angers property owners

Many neighborhood businesses and a few residential properties were hit by tagging "artists" on Thursday or Friday last week.  The above example, one of the worst, is at the bus stop next to Madison Park Hardware on 42nd near E. Madison St.  Among the neighborhood icons tagged were the cute red phone box in front of the former Best Buds shop and the not-so-cute "Black Hole of Madison Park" (Constance Gillespie's building next to the Bank of America).

Those who have experienced vandalism may report it using the Seattle Police's CORP (Community Online Reporting Program), but no one should expect much of a police investigation of this kind of criminal activity. That's just the way it is.

Another neighborhood business to exit

Ann Marie Lingerie (4000 E. Madison St.) is closing up shop later this month, at least at its current location.  Store manager Felicia Klabo tells us that Ann Marie may ultimately move to another physical location, but for the time being it's going to be exclusively an online merchant. The store is having a 50-75%-off moving sale, so those looking for the latest Hanky Panky nightwear or Prima Donna underwires should rush right down.

If you are among those who bemoan the loss of Madison Park's retail core, this closing is no doubt particularly sad.  Ann Marie has been one of the very few neighborhood clothing stores to survive (The Original Children's Shop being the only other). The store has been a neighborhood fixture for many years, but the current ownership of Nathalie Scandiuzzi began in 2011.

At the other end of "The Village," however, a new establishment opened during the last month, at 1928 43rd Avenue E.  City Sweats is another neighborhood spa, this one offering "Far Infrared Sauna Treatment, massages, Himalayan salt scrubs, Lymphatic Drainage and a full tonics bar menu."  Oh, and "chromotherapy."

Meanwhile, interior construction work is now underway at the old Mad Pizza location on E. Madison St. next to Scoop du Jour.  We see that "Vophan Restaurant & Catering LLC" has applied for a beer and wine permit for this location, but there's no official confirmation yet that this new entity is going to be providing the neighborhood with sushi. Nevertheless, it's a pretty strong rumor.  Further down the street, however, no work seems to be underway at the former Best Buds location, rumored to be the site of a future taco stand.

Finally, there's the HomeStreet Bank branch, still building away more than a year after the bank first took the space on.  As we understand the story, the hundred-year-old building turned out not to be in very good condition, requiring a lot of work that was not initially anticipated. As you can see (above), there's much to do before the branch can open sometime later this year.

Madison Park home wins prestigious award

A recently constructed "passive house" at 4211 E. Lee Street in Washington Park has won an American Institute of Architects National Housing Award. The award was established to recognize "the best in housing design and promote the importance of good housing as a necessity of life, a sanctuary for the human spirit and a valuable national resource."

The house uses 90% less energy for heating and cooling than is typical of conventionally built structures. NK Architects designed the home, which was constructed by Cascade Built.

Easter egg hunt this Saturday

Madison Park (the City park, that is) will be the scene of a mad scramble for easter eggs this Saturday.  The hunt will begin at 3:30 and continue until all the eggs are found or the parents get bored. There will be a "bunny petting lounge" and a "little ones hunt" as well.  Let's hope for sun.

Neighborhood hit with extensive tagging

As we've reported in the past, tagging is an ongoing problem in the neighborhood, but the scale of last night's vandalism is perhaps unprecedented.  Community Council member Bob Edmiston reported in an email this morning that he counted 40 separate graffiti incidents in the "flat" area of Madison Park, principally in alleys between E. Lee Street to the south and the Edgewater Apartments (E. McGilvra Street) to the north. Garage doors were the principal targets.

Those who have experienced vandalism of their property are urged to report the incident to the police, which is easily on on-line here: Seattle Police CORP.

Tagging is not ‘Art in the Park’

The death yesterday of famed NY graffiti artist Michael Martin, aka “Iz the Wiz”, provides us with a good segue for a little story on graffiti in Madison Park, of which the less said the better. The kind of graffiti sometimes found in Madison Park hardly rivals what you’d see any day in New York, LA or many European cities, but it is causing concern for both the Madison Park Community Council and Business Association.

I took a tour of neighborhood graffiti last week with MPCC president Ken Myrabo, who pointed out a lot of graffiti that I had missed on my many circuits through the park while walking my dogs. I guess it proves that some of us simply screen out graffiti when we see it. Tagging is certainly the lowest form of graffiti, being nothing more the than the unauthorized writing of the perpetrator’s moniker (in words or symbols) on buildings, streets and sidewalks, or objects. We seem to have a lot of that going in certain alleys, especially those in the merchant district near the end of E. Madison Street. Here's an example from the backside of the building housing Starbuck's:

It’s pretty unimpressive stuff. Clearly, the perpetrators are kids with no artistic talent and not much imagination either. In addition to tagging, there are occasional phrases (for example, on a residential garbage can in an alley: “for a rich neighborhood, this alley sure has a lot of graff…”). It’s all pretty pathetic stuff; and though a definite eyesore, it does not appear to me to be gang related. This is not the kind of graffiti that can be studied by sociologists for clues about 21st century urban youth’s feelings of alienation and angst. It seems more about bored kids with time on their hands and a can of spray paint.

Fortunately, most business owners in Madison Park act promptly to remove tagging when it occurs. The biggest problem appears to be on dumpsters (which are owned by the disposal companies, not the business owners) and the backs of buildings in alleyways. Myrabo points out that that the City has a Graffiti Nuisance Ordinance that requires property owners to remove graffiti when properly notified of its existence. He encourages those who discover graffiti to report it to the building owner as a first step.

Tagging is vandalism, and the city has a program to help prevent it and remove it. It is not recommended that property owners take the law into their own hands, as did one incensed New Zealand property owner a couple years ago who confronted two teenage taggers, eventually stabbing one of them to death (so reports Wikipedia).

Graffiti should be reported to the City’s Public Utilities Department (684-7587). You can access an on-line graffiti reporting form, as well as get tips on graffiti prevention and information on volunteering for graffiti cleanup, at Keep Seattle Clean.

By way of comparison of graffiti problems in the Park with those in other Seattle neighborhoods, take a look at what graffiti “artists” have done to destroy a mural on a bridge underpass in the Phinney Ridge/Greenwood area:

For a “before” picture of the mural, check out the PhinneyWood.com blog. For more about American graffiti you can access a great NYC site: at149st.com, which also provides links to graffiti sites in other cities.