MS-13 Graffiti Plagues Jackson Heights, Elmhurst After Shooting

ELMHURST, QUEENS – An apparent uptick in gang-related graffiti has spurred the NYPD to step up patrols in Elmhurst and Jackson Heights. On social media, residents are reporting MS-13 and other gang tags near the 90th Street-Elmhurst Avenue 7 train station, the site of a Feb. 3 fatal shooting.

Residents are spotting the number "13" — a reference to street gang MS-13 — tagged on buildings along Elmhurst Avenue and Hampton Street, according to social media posts. Graffiti tags by the 18th Street Gang, which include the symbol "XV3", were seen along 90th Street north of Roosevelt Avenue.

The NYPD Gang Squad and officers from the 110th and 115th precincts have increased their presence in the area, according to Councilman Francisco Moya.

While Moya has noticed an increase in gang-related graffiti — there was even MS-13-related vandalism scrawled on his office — it is unclear whether gang members are the ones responsible.

"We don't know if it is actual MS-13 gang members doing that," said Ryan Sit, a spokesperson for Moya's office. "While there has been an increase possibly, as far as MS-13 goes, we don't know that it's actually legitimate."

Police linked the Feb. 3 shooting to MS-13 and said the victim was a member of the rival 18th Street Gang. It is unclear how police determined the gang affiliations.

MS-13 does not have a huge presence in the area — the gang is more common in Flushing and Long Island, Sit said. But since the shooting, he added, residents have a heightened awareness. The councilman's office is hosting a town hall on Friday with the 110th and 115th police precincts to discuss their actions to combat gang-related activity and to answer questions.

Elmhurst resident Gregory Spock said he sees significant gang graffiti in his area, especially on Pettit Avenue. "I’ve seen graffiti on trees that line the street, or on lampposts and people’s homes," he said. "It’s ubiquitous."

Moya acknowledged that residents are concerned, but he said incidents like the Feb. 3 shooting are rare. "The shooting on the 7 train platform was shocking and horrific, but it is an aberration. Gang violence on the trains are rare and citywide crime continues to decrease every year; this is the safest big city in the nation," he said in a statement.

The NYPD and Moya have partnered to paint over the gang graffiti. In the last fiscal year, Moya's office devoted $220,000 to the NYC Clean-Up Initiative, which includes graffiti removal. Moya has also funded graffiti clean-up efforts out of his own pocket, Sit said.

"Vandalism, like violence, is a symptom of the larger issue," Moya said in a statement. "If we want to eradicate gangs then we have to come together as a community, as a city and as a country to erase the conditions that breed it."

Contact Councilman Moya's office or the local NYPD precinct to report gang graffiti. The town hall is on Friday, Feb. 15 from 7-9 p.m. at St. Leo Catholic Academy School in Corona.

(Lead image: Office of Councilman Francisco Moya)