For years, a message sprawled on the concrete wall next to the Naugatuck River in Ansonia has asked “Why Lennon?”
Alderman John Marini wants to silence it once and for all.
Marini is kicking off an anti-graffiti push by taking aim at the “Why Lennon?” question, which is painted on the wall in big red block letters. The graffiti has been up for decades, as a plaintive response to the premature death of John Lennon, who was killed in 1980.
It’s been painted over many times, but always reappears, officials said.
Marini, who was last year elected as Ansonia’s first Republican alderman in a decade, said it’s time for the question to be erased for the last time.
“It’s been 30 years since Lennon was assassinated,” he said. “An answer is not forthcoming.”
The Big Picture
But Marini’s crusade against graffiti is not just about “Why Lennon?” The larger issue, he said, is that graffiti is a demoralizing, destructive force in Ansonia. It gives people the wrong impression of the city and enables other crime, he said.
In a recent interview on Riverside Drive, across from the wall, Marini said he’s looking into options for removing graffiti that exists and preventing future graffiti from going up. He said he wants to craft an anti-graffiti ordinance for the city.
Graffiti along the river wall is “a serious deterrent to business and investment,” Marini said. “It’s basically garbage lining the gateway.”
The wall is covered with tags and throw-ups from writers like “Sic” and others, along with paint spots where graffiti has been covered up. Marini said he suspects some of the graffiti might be gang-related.
Marini said he’s taking a two-pronged approach to the graffiti: First, remove what’s there; then, prevent it from returning.
He brought up his plans at a Board of Aldermen meeting last week.
Mayor James Della Volpe explained the city’s long-time fight with graffiti — especially the “Why Lennon” piece. The city keeps painting over or removing the graffiti. Vandals keep putting it back up.
Della Volpe said new lighting at the near-by train station might act as a deterrent in the future.
Marini said he’s getting a free estimate to see how much it will cost to remove existing graffiti, possibly with water-blasting. He then plans to look for grants or private donations to pay for graffiti removal. Marini said he is committed to not passing costs on to Ansonia taxpayers.
As for prevention, Marini said the best strategy is rapid removal. People who paint on walls are often doing it for attention and recognition, Marini said. If their graffiti is removed within 24 or 48 hours, they’re robbed of the attention they crave and they’ll soon give up, Marini said.
The alderman said graffiti-resistant coatings and the installation of lights are also good options. The river wall is completely dark at night, he said, which allows people to paint without being caught. The city could also look into preventing public access to the wall, Marini said.
Ansonia does not currently have a good anti-graffiti ordinance, Marini said. He’d like to change that. He said he’d like to put together a law that would include penalties for possessing graffiti tools within a certain radius of public facilities.
“That’s important to put on the books,” he said.
He said he hopes to have something drafted in the next six months.
“It’s much more than just writing on the wall,” Marini said. The presence of unchecked graffiti creates an atmosphere in which crime is seen as permissible, he said. “It’s almost an implicit authorization.”
‘Why Lennon?’
People in the neighborhood last week seemed indifferent about the graffiti.
“That’s been there for a long time,” Margarida Jackson said about the “Why Lennon?” piece. “It don’t bother me.”
Informed of Marini’s plans to clean up graffiti, Jackson said, “That’d be nice. … I wouldn’t mind it.”
Felicia Lee, who lives in the Riverside Apartments across the river, appeared a little later. She was rushing on her way to work.
About the “Why Lennon?” graffiti, she said, “We pays it no mind.”
She said installing lights would probably cut down on the graffiti.
Readers who responded to a question on the Valley Indy Facebook page, however, felt strongly:
“LEAVE IT ALONE,” wrote reader Kim Giannone. “Growing up in Ansonia, I remember seeing it as a small child. Whenever it fades, someone used to darken it. John Lennon was one of THE BEST REAL musicians and icons to EVER live on this earth. Let that so-called graffiti serve as a remembrance. Have some respect for Lennon.”
Reader Darlene Bomba Zawisza said the graffiti stands as a message of peace.
“Years ago when someone painted over it, it was upsetting. Why Lennon? His message of “Give peace a chance” is needed more now than ever,” Zawisza wrote. “That is one piece of ‘artwork’ that I do not look at as graffiti. It should stay there forever!”
Others said the graffiti should finally come down.
“It is vandalism and while I respect the historical value of the vandalism I still feel that it is simply time for the town to move forward and clean it up,” wrote reader Isaias Diaz.
Asked if he thought the longstanding “Why Lennon?” graffiti had become a part of Ansonia history, Marini said he didn’t think so.
“It this a landmark we want to conserve? No.”
The first graffiti on the wall was the translucent “NORMA, I LOVE YOU,” just to the left of Bridge St., not the “Why Lennon.”
Aside from the criminal aspect, graffiti is nothing but garbage on walls. It is a reflection of the community and does nothing to encourage anything positive such as perception of the city or attracting business. The city needs to show that it cares about itself so that others will also care and take an interest. This is just one step necessary to transform the image of Ansonia. If those who would oppose the removal or downplay any effort towards it, perhaps they wouldn’t mind offering their house or car as graffiti canvas. Let’s see how much they would appreciate that.
Hey, Sharpeye –
Exactly what important issues WILL the Mayor get around to addressing, other than raising taxes?!? Since it’s apparent to our fellow struggling taxpayers (and anyone else with half a brain) that taxing is the ONLY important issue on HIS administration’s agenda, which is responsible for having the upper-hand in contributing to the distress most of the community IS CONTENDING WITH!! At least Marini is trying to alleviate & improve this backward town with its economical development, so ppl like you can survive without baring the bulk of the tax burden & give your town a name you can be PROUD of, at the same time! …
The “great recession” excuse is getting old Mr. “Shapeye.”
Use that keen vision of yours to take a look around at some other similarly situated towns. Ansonia is at the bottom of the barrel.
That’s not just my opinion. It’s the ranking given by Connecticut Magazine for several years in a row.
Yes, hard economic times makes it difficult. But that does not explain our situation relative to other towns who are going through the exact same thing.
By the way- if we can’t tackle a problem as simple as graffiti, then I guess we have little hope for anything else.
Your advice, as I understand it, is to simply wait for Mayor Dell to fix things.
What is wrong with some alderman getting things done and helping him out? Last time I looking there were 14 aldermen. Mayor can’t do everything.
I think the Alderman has his priorities out of whack. The graffiti isn’t the problem. The people doing the graffiti are the problem. Specifically, the people that have the time to do the graffiti on the worst street in the Valley (Olson Drive). He talks about the graffiti being a deterrent, but conveniently forgets to mention the fact that Olson Drive in itself has been a deterrent for decades.
Fix the key problem first. Then worry about the window dressing.
To the posters above:
The Alderman here has also been involved in reviving the city’s economic development commission, applying for and obtaining a $300,000 housing rehabilitation grant for the city, and was the sole alderman to oppose an 8% tax increase and city salary increases.
This can all be seen with a little research on this site.
Now his priorities are “out of whack” because he’s also talking about eliminating graffiti? Sounds like he’s just multi tasking.
As for removing Olson Drive from the picture, I think “superbus” is essentially right. The problem is, do we just accept Ansonia looking like a slum until the projects magically disappear?
We need to fight back. Even if only in small steps. Right now, vandals are getting away with anything they want in that area of town. Cleaning up the wall, and keeping it clean, is a good way to start.