SMH: Five graffiti artists who painted a Trayvon Martin mural in Elmwood Park, New Jersey are being forced to erase their art because town officials and the building inspector claim that it “promotes a gang mentality.” Full story after the jump!

Wendy L.

NJ.com:

Just as the killing of Trayvon Martin is seen in differing ways, so is a mural created as a tribute to the Florida teen.

Artists call the mural in Elmwood Park an expression of solidarity for the young shooting victim, while some neighbors oppose the display, saying it promotes gang activity.

Now town officials say the mural at Messina deli on East 54th street must come down.

“We got multiple complaints from residents in the area,” said mayor Richard Mola. “What they told me is they just don’t like what’s up there.”

Mola, who said he has not seen the mural, said the building inspector told the artists to paint over the work because it violated local ordinances. He could not specify which ones.

Several New Jersey street artists painted a mural on the side of an Elmwood Park deli to help raise awareness for Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old killed in Sanford Florida on Feb. 26. Martin was shot by a neighborhood crime-watch resident and has raised national attention. While many residents of Elmwood Park support the art and the message, there are some that believe the mural does not belong in the town. Town officials are forcing the building owner and artist to remove the image based on a violation of a town ordinance forbidding graffiti.

The town’s website defines graffiti as “knowingly vandalizing or defacing property.”

The artists had the support of the building’s owner John Quinn. “I want them to use this as a canvas to bring other issues to the public,” he said.

The mural includes no gang insignia or symbols, said one of five artists who worked on it. Carmelo “Snow” Sigona said snap judgments about graffiti art mirror false stereotyping of young men in hoodies.

Breanna Savinon, 16, lives in the only house with windows that face the mural.

“It’s creative, it’s everything the town should want,” said Savinon who moved here from Manhattan six years ago. “Maybe growing up around real (gang) tags, it’s easier for me to see that this is actual art,” she said.

Lawrence Langerlaan, 71, who’s lived 44 years in the neighborhood, called the mayor’s office to complain.
“That type of art goes with gangs,” Langeriaan said. “It’s a hooded character with no face. How am I supposed to interpret it?”