This week, I read an article from Bushwick Daily on a graffiti artist who has been defacing various murals around the neighborhood in an outcry against gentrification. The anonymous tagger seems to believe that the murals are indicative of the kinds of populations shifts Bushwick is currently facing. What was once legendary and edgy street art has been toned down and had its rough edges sanded off into a series of “mass appeal” murals which are drawing in more affluent populations who are displacing Bushwick’s original residents.
While the author of this piece does not do so in the most professional language, he does make a point of explaining why this graffitti artist is misguided in his approach to combating gentrification. The street murals around Bushwick were designed for everybody to enjoy – not just wealthy newcomers to the neighborhood. If a person wants to speak out against gentrification, they should be able to do so in a more direct manner, getting into direct contact with local officials and policymakers. I recall when we were first asked to attend community board meetings which encourage this kind of civil behaviour, and most of us didn’t know where to find them or how they worked. I wonder what we could do to better advertise and explain these options to community members in an effort to prevent more harmful outbursts in the future.