Chalk messages cause stir
Police threaten arrest over sidewalk writing critical of Spa officials
The city’s most vocal advocate for people with disabilities said she has been silenced — for now.
Darlene Mcgraw, who has been speaking up in public meetings about sidewalk safety and ensuring all pathways are Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant, said she was threatened with arrest on Tuesday evening after she called out the city’s Department of Public Works with a sidewalk chalk message.
“I was told by a police officer that (Deputy Commissioner of DPW) Joe O’neill wants to press charges on me,” said the 36year-old Degraw. “I did nothing wrong, number one. Number two, it’s just sidewalk chalk that the kids play with. They said I needed to wipe it off or else they would arrest me. I wiped it off.”
Police confirmed to the Times Union they spoke with Degraw about her chalking, but they did not confirm it was at the behest of the head of the DPW.
The incident with Mcgraw and the city started on Monday. Just hours before an 11 a.m. press conference at City Hall, Mcgraw scrawled a message in multicolor chalk at the foot of its staircase. It read:
“About the City of Saratoga
Springs 1. They (heart emoji) the track more than residents 2. Safety is not a priority 3. Equality does not exist. Made with (heart emoji) by Darlene (heart emoji).”
The sidewalk was washed clean before the media arrived.
Then on Tuesday, she went back to City Hall to write a message about the city spending money on flowers and not ADA compliance. And then, she went out to the entrance of the DPW garage. There, she wrote:
“DPW you washed away my sidewalk art to make a show for the media. Well too late they already saw it. You can’t shut me up. Good try. Happy summer. Made w/love Darlene” with more heart emojis.
That’s when a Saratoga Springs police officer showed up, she said.
“(DPW) is trying to intimidate me,” Mcgraw said. “The officer was nice and understanding, but they are not all like that.”
Neither DPW Commissioner Anthony “Skip” Scirocco nor his deputy, O’neill, responded to a request for comment on the matter. The police department, which confirmed the incident with Mcgraw, said it happened around 6 p.m.
This is not the first time that Mcgraw — who is epileptic, asthmatic, and has difficulty with balance and cognitive issues related to a brain injury — has encountered police over her use of chalk near City Hall. Last year, city police approached her telling her spray chalk could not be washed off and if she used it, she could be charged with vandalism. That encounter, some of which she caught on video, was not as friendly as this week’s.
On tape, the police officer told Mcgraw then, “I don’t want to see it anywhere else and you have been advised.”
Mcgraw has also engaged in other forms of protest. Last summer, she staged a one-woman potholes protest. She stood alone with a sign at the DPW garage telling DPW to fix the city’s asphalt craters. To press her point further, she planted flowers in the potholes near her East Side home. The blossoms, standing in contrast to the black asphalt, demanded attention.
Mcgraw said she wants to solve the pothole issue because the disabled have difficulty maneuvering on foot, in wheelchairs and on bicycles around them. After her protest and a Times Union story, DPW paved over the ruts in the road and Scirocco told the Times Union that Mcgraw only needs to call DPW “and we will repair” the potholes.
But getting the city to be Ada-compliant has been her biggest point of contention with the city. In 2012, the city adopted its complete streets policy that was aimed at ensuring streets and sidewalks can be used by all ages and abilities. For about six years, Mcgraw has been speaking up about the plan at nearly every City Council meeting. But she said progress has been frustratingly slow. When Mcgraw asked Mayor Meg Kelly to be put on the Complete Streets Advisory Committee, she was passed over.
“They don’t consider me knowledgeable or qualified,” Mcgraw said.
As someone who doesn’t drive, Mcgraw said she is well aware of the difficulties navigating the sidewalks for the visually impaired and those using canes, strollers and wheelchairs. One problem, she said, is the transition between sidewalk materials — concrete, asphalt, brick and slate — which is also slippery when it rains. She also said that not all curb cuts are at the right level and some don’t have truncated domes. She also said that manholes are not always level with the road.
“They don’t mean nothing to the cars, but I ride my trike around,” Mcgraw said. “It’s hard.”
But the thought of arrest is making Mcgraw rethink chalk as her medium to drive home her message.
“If they do arrest me, what’s going to happen?” she asked, concerned with not having the money for lawyers as she barely makes it financially with retail and security jobs, as well as disability assistance. “I don’t understand what I did wrong. I was speaking out against the government. Isn’t that my First Amendment right?”
At the same time, she said others in the city who are disabled are urging her to continue drawing attention to the issue. Thus, she will continue to speak at City Council meetings.
“I’m trying to help here,” Mcgraw said. “I’m talking for everyone in the community. It’s not all about me . ... You might be fine now, but that doesn’t mean you will always be. Disabilities don’t discriminate, Black, white, pink or purple. It could happen to you.”