Some graffiti’s iconic—the stuff of Jonathan Lethem novels and arthouse documentaries—but some Brooklyn tags reach epic eyesore levels. The Flatbush Graffiti Clean Up Day is this Saturday, Jun. 5, and it’s your chance to give the streets a little TLC (or unleash your inner Picasso, depending on your skill). You and fellow beautifiers will head out, get chummy and paint over Flatbush’s most unwanted wall art. And since all that community service can stoke the appetite, there’s a free post-paint barbecue after.
A joint effort between the Flatbush Development Corporation (FDC) and the Church Avenue Business Improvement District (with the help of the 70th Precinct Explorers), the volunteer effort will target tags between Coney Island Avenue and Flatbush Avenue—a section that includes Church Avenue and Ditmas Park and extends down to Avenue H. Organizers say the area will see cleanup attention from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., but the whole thing depends on “volunteer response.”
And here’s an extra bit fun you can have: Before taking it to the streets this weekend, volunteers are asked to e-mail photos and location info for graffiti they come across to tagfreeflatbush@fdconline.org. This is your chance to capture your neighborhood’s best (and worst) tags before they’re gone forever.
Clean-up volunteers should meet at 10 a.m. at 1701 Church Ave., between E.17th & E. 18th Sts.; or at 1616 Newkirk Ave., between E. 16th & E. 17th Sts. Rain-date is Sunday, Jun. 6.