Poof! Seaford LIRR Overpass Graffiti Gone

SEAFORD, NY — Days after someone scrawled graffiti on a wall beneath a Long Island Rail Road overpass in Seaford, the vandalism has been painted over. The vandalism initially appeared overnight a week ago beneath the Seamans Neck Road overpass near Brooklyn Avenue, Chris Carini, vice president of the Wantagh-Seaford Homeowners Association and newly elected Hempstead Town council member, told Patch.

The graffiti, which was still visible Tuesday, had been painted over as of Wednesday afternoon, Carini said. While the MTA has recently been slow to address LIRR vandalism in the area, this time the graffiti was addressed within a week.

"We're very happy with the timely manner the Long Island Rail Road corrected the issue," he said.

As Patch previously reported, Carini has worked tirelessly over the last year to have the MTA correct a litany of issues, including graffiti removal, at its stations and overpasses. That includes the Seamans Neck overpass, where graffiti had to be removed over the summer. The overpass took weeks to repaint in that instance.

But in the latest case, vandalism appeared on the wall of the overpass at street level, rather than above on the overpass itself. The MTA on Thursday confirmed it removed the graffiti.

"Earlier this week, our structures team completed the work to paint the area that contained the graffiti," the MTA told Patch in a statement. "The LIRR has responded numerous times to this spot in the past and support our partners in the community to discourage this type of vandalism."

Carini previously called for those in power to do more. This includes a full-time crew dedicated to removing graffiti and can do so within a few days. One to three months, he said, is far too long.

"That is not acceptable as graffiti destroys our suburban landscape and reduces property values," he said at the time.

When asked Wednesday whether anything's changed since he was elected to represent council District 5, Carini didn't hesitate — he plans to continue calling for 24/7 graffiti teams.

"I'm still going to be a pain in the tush," he said. "I'm not going away. It still affects quality of life."