Keep It Crap. . . A.K.A Councils Are Bullies!

Further to last weeks premature death of the Brick Lane hall of fame that had started and allowed to continue after the Meeting of Styles event this year, word has reached the Graffoto news desk of underhanded tatctics by Hackney Council in trying to bully shopkeepers into having graffiti cleaned from their shutters.


A Shoreditch shop owner has this week received a letter from the council stating, with somewhat imposed authority that "he must paint his shutter within 14 days of this notice, or legal proceedings will begin" - thankfully he told them to take a long walk off a short plank and is standing his ground, but how many others have received the letter and will believe it to be official, and just paint the shutters out as quickly as posssible? Hopefully not many.

After all, it's not like it's an eyesore:


Whilst it isn't believed that the two are connected - being that Brick Lane falls under Tower Hamlets Council, who to date have been slightly more leanient and forward thinking in their approach to graff and street art (they surveyed local residents and business owners as to whether the art should be allowed to stay) It does leave a bitter taste in the mouth that councils, or housing corporations feel that they can bully people into submission and somehow agree with their small minded belief that buffing these walls and shutters actually makes the place any better.

A word from Bristol graff artists is what's needed here (after the council buffed a LEGAL WALL):