Graffiti Love Pins and Buttons
Description: Every set in New York City in the '70s and '80s includes a graffiti-covered subway, and for good reason - this was what things were like underground. The illegible urban hieroglyphics gave a sense that the trains were controlled by wild gangs of teenagers... which was kind of true. The fight to keep trains free of graffiti was nonstop, but in 1984, an incoming president of the NYC Transit Authority declared war on graffiti. Leveraging a variety of tactics, major inroads were made in keeping trains clean and free of graffiti. If a car was painted on, it was taken out of service and cleaned - no cars would run with graffiti on them. In May 1989, victory was declared in the anti-graffiti war, though the actual success is debatable.
