Graffiti writer not sorry as Philly spends over $60K to remove graffiti from public art, highway sign

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia is known internationally as the City of Murals. But, this year alone, tens of thousands of dollars have been poured into removing graffiti on public art. And, most recently, an interstate sign was defaced. The graffiti writer who tagged it talked about motivation.

An I-76 overhead sign has been tagged with graffiti for about a month now. The graffiti was tagged for the 346B University Avenue sign exit.

The graffiti writer known as William Bonnie posted a video of himself tagging the highway sign with graffiti to his social media pages. It has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. Many of the comments are expressing anger.

Will is from Port Richmond and around 30-years-old. He chose to conceal his face with a surgical mask during our meeting.

"It’s still not legal and I’m not trying to throw anything in anybody’s face. I don’t want to make a problem out of it," said Will. "If they can’t find their exit or directions or whatever, I feel that 95 percent of people use GPS these days. It is graffiti. It’s vandalism at the end of the day, or whatever, but I don’t think a lot of those people that were commenting actually care about the sign."

According to PennDOT, a work order has been submitted with a large sign contractor to have the graffiti removed. Spokesperson Robyn Briggs said, "It is anticipated that it will be worked on in the next couple of weeks and the estimate cost is approximately $6,000 to remove the graffiti from the I-76 overhead sign."

There’s also a mural on I-76 near the Philadelphia Zoo that has been tagged with graffiti. A PennDOT spokesperson said the agency has been working with Mural Arts Philadelphia (MAP) and the Philadelphia Community Life Improvement Project (CLIP) to address the graffiti.

"There were discussions to paint a standard blank color over the graffiti on the mural for now. PennDOT will offer support for lane closures, if needed, when the work takes place," said Briggs.

Jane Golden, the executive director of MAP, said this mural existed for nearly two decades undisturbed.

"What we’re seeing right now in our city, which to me feels like an uptick in graffiti and graffiti on murals, there’s just been an increase since COVID," said Golden. "It’s not just the actual painting that is getting hurt. It’s all the people that work on it. We feel very determined to do what we can to protect the iconic collection of public art in our city."

This year alone, there are more than 50 murals that have been tagged with graffiti, mostly at underpasses, and it has cost between $60,000 to $70,000 to remove, according to Golden.

"It’s a legitimate art form, but if you’re going to write somewhere and you weren’t invited in, then it’s wrong and we can’t condone it," said Golden. "There has to be some consequences for this, but our door is open. This is what we do. We have a restorative justice program. We are a forgiving group. We like to see the glass half full and potential everywhere."

Mural Arts Philadelphia asks the public to report graffiti on murals by going to their website or by calling 215-685-0750.

A person found guilty of graffiti or damaging property can face a charge of criminal mischief, according to state police, and the damages determine if the charge is a misdemeanor or felony.

Philadelphia police said a person can be responsible for cleanup and restoring the damaged property.