NYC judge overturns ban on ‘graffiti instruments’

A judge has overturned New York City’s ban on ‘graffiti instruments,’ reports the New York Times.

Mark Ecko, the Manhattan fashion designer responsible for the financial backing behind the lawsuit (started by seven high-school kids), is also responsible for last month’s tagging Air Force One hoax.

The rules previously prohibited the sale and possession of graffiti tools, including spraypaint and even certain markers, by anyone under 21.

A lot of people put the heat on Ecko during the promotion of his PlayStation2/XBox game, Getting Up, implying that Ecko was trying to profit off of the work of graffiti artists. But in this lawsuit he stood alone in backing the kids.

In the opinion of this writer, Mark Ecko gets it and has not lost his edge and is still in touch with hip-hop. Getting Up is the only game in recent memory that promotes hip-hop culture without carrying with it the usual old-world thug culture. I do not buy his clothes, and I don’t believe in his cult of personality, but this cat is doing good things.


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One response to “NYC judge overturns ban on ‘graffiti instruments’”

  1. Kraze Avatar

    I know this post is old n all but I just came across it. Big ups to you for bein a writer, but I gotta disagree with you on Marc Ecko. That boy hasn’t lost it. He never had it. He still tries too hard. He’s almost ass kissing the entire graffiti subculture and all it’s followers ya know? I’m not sayin it’s a publicity stunt (although that air force one bullshit pissed the crap outta me). But I’m sayin this boy is just tryin to hard. What he’s doin is good, but he shouldn’t push so hard that graffiti is an art, free expression n all that. He should just be like: legalize it, these aren’t tools of destruction. Spraypaint is spraypaint, what if he jsut wants to paint up his car or something right? So yeah. What do you write? I’mma keep an eye on this blog, downloading your podcast now 😀

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