Road Crews Tackle Little Neck Graffiti

Area taggers now have two enemies in the ongoing war against graffiti: Mother Nature and city Department of Transportation worker Vlatko Zig.

A member of a bridge painting crew assigned to graffiti removal, Zig took advantage of unseasonably warm temperatures Monday afternoon to tackle tags strewn across a 100-foot long brick embankment along Horace Harding Boulevard and 251st Street facing the Long Island Expressway.

"Anytime the weather is good, we come out and try to catch up with all the calls of graffiti complaints," Zig said. 

As Zig stood in the warm sun, a fellow worker sprayed brick red paint that completely covered the graffiti — also known as "tags" — as well as a line of melting snow underneath. 

It was that same snow which sidelined Zig's detail for weeks while the city was battered by one winter storm after another. 

But with today's temperatures reaching the upper 50s — and with the mercury set to flirt with 60 degrees come Friday — these city DOT workers are again out in force, continuing the battle between residents and business owners on one side, and graffiti enthusiasts (some even say, "artists") on the other. 

On that struggle, there's no doubt about what side Zig is on. 

"This is a really nice neighborhood," said Zig before jumping back into his truck, called to tackle graffiti reportedly near the Midtown Tunnel in Queens. "I'm surprised they are tagging here."

Graffiti is a persistent problem along roads facing Long Island Expressway, with numerous signs and at least one construction site littered with graffiti spray-painted in curlicues of different colors.

Tags are also known to pop up on storefronts along Northern Boulevard, including DiMaria's Pizza, which was .