The walls inside the pedestrian tunnel at 191st Street in Washington Heights became a new canvas: The graffiti here is now only days old.
The tunnel leading to a train station on line 1 looked like this over the weekend after the Department of Transportation painted over it to remove the graffiti, drawing criticism from the community.
“Last night, when I was coming, I saw it in this horrible color. Which was preferably how it was painted before with the artists. It was seen with more, with more life”, said Yanet Valerio.
The tunnel is known in the community for being completely covered in colorful paint after the Department of Transportation completed a project in 2015 that brought in artists to paint murals.
Councilor Carmen De La Rosa has lobbied for more resources to improve the tunnel. But she says that this is not what she had in mind.
“We held a meeting with all the agencies in February of last year to coordinate services within the tunnel. The focus was never on painting the tunnel,” De La Rosa said.
Statement by Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa and Nira E. Leyva-Gutiérrez, Executive Director of NoMAA, regarding the 191st Street Tunnel. pic.twitter.com/fZFsyqC0rm
– Carmen De La Rosa (@CnDelarosa) January 21, 2023
People who use this tunnel tell us that there are more serious problems here that need to be addressed.
“When I leave my job, I always accompanied. I don’t cross here because there are people taking drugs here, there are people here where you can be alone and there are no cameras either, it would be a good idea if they at least had a camera,” said Cesarina García.
The community say that other resources are needed to address security issues.
DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodríguez says this is just the first step in efforts to improve the tunnel.
“We started cleaning up, we started more maintenance, we started ramping up the police presence,” Rodríguez said.
In the coming weeks they hope to find artists to repaint the tunnel, added the commissioner.
De la Rosa says it’s time for the corridor to improve.
“My focus is going to follow the services, because we do nothing with painting the tunnel, if there is garbage, if there are people who unfortunately have to live there, if we are not going to the root of the problem.”
The Department of Transportation has said that it will work with the community to create the next art installation and has indicated that it will invest money in installing more security measures in the future.
“New York City Department of Transportation crews recently cleaned up the 191st Street Tunnel and removed the graffiti. We value the importance of public art and this cleanup is the first step in creating new art with the community. We are committed to keep the tunnel clean in partnership with @NYPDnews and @NYCSanitation,” the DOT wrote in a social media message.
NYC DOT crews recently cleaned the 191st St tunnel & removed graffiti. We value the importance of public art & this cleaning is the first step towards creating new art with the community. We are committed to keeping the tunnel clean in partnership with @NYPDnews & @NYCSanitation. pic.twitter.com/1IULhOKGFJ
— NYC DOT (@NYC_DOT) January 23, 2023
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