Police: LGBTQ-inspired street paint vandalized
DELRAY BEACH — An array of rainbow colors freshly painted on the street of a busy Delray Beach intersection was vandalized this week, police say.
The intersection at Northeast First Street and Northeast Second Avenue in Delray Beach is one of many around the country painted in honor of Pride Month, an international celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.
The city unveiled its street art on Saturday.
By Monday, there were skid marks from vehicle tires stretching from one side of the intersection to the other.
“Once we saw the picture of it, it was pretty clear that someone made a concerted effort to mark up the entire intersection,” said Claudia Harrison, a spokeswoman for Compass, a Palm Beach County-based community center for the LGBTQ community.
Delray Beach Police are investigating the damage as vandalism.
Spokesman Ted White wouldn’t say whether it’s being investigated as a hate crime.
“All we can say right now is that there was a report taken and a detective is investigating it,” White said.
Ryan Boylston, vice mayor of Delray Beach, said he received only one complaint about the art.
Some social media posts have been critical, though, saying the crosswalks are tacky, traffic hazards and a bad use of the money.
The project cost about $10,000, paid for by donors, Boylston said. What happens next is undecided. Boylston said he reached out to city staff for details on how the skid marks would be removed or if they would be painted over, but he had not gotten a response.
Brightly colored murals, bridges and crosswalks are being painted across the state.
In Delray Beach and Boynton Beach, the streetscapes include not only the traditional six rainbow colors associated with the
LGBTQ flag (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet).
The intersections have five more colors: black and brown, to represent people of color; and light blue, pink and white, to honor trans and non-binary individuals and those living with HIV/AIDS.
Boynton Beach’s new streetscape is at the intersection of East Ocean Avenue and First Street Southeast. There have been no reports of vandalism there, Boynton Police said.
Harrison called this incident “small potatoes” compared with attacks on LGBTQ people and their rights and said it’s another opportunity for the community to show its strength and support for other marginalized communities.
“The best thing we can do is keep living our best lives and be in support of freedom and rights for all other populations that are sidelined or have to struggle in that regard
so that we can bring everyone up together and show the rest of the world that better for one is better for all,” she said.