Serial Tagger Leaving a Trail of BLUR in New Rochelle

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — A serial graffiti artist has been plaguing parks, schools and neighborhoods in the area in and around New Rochelle High School as well as other parts of town.

Talk of the Sound has set out to unmask the person with the hope of their being sentenced to cleaning up the mess they are creating in New Rochelle.

With the assistance of my junior reporter, Micaela Cox, we have been documenting known instances where a person has used the tag “BLUR.” or “BLR” or “BLR.” Most often the tag is done with a thick black marker, perhaps a Marks-A-Lot marker.

BLUR has been active for at least six months, possibly longer, and struck as recently as two weeks ago, tagging two park benches near the Twin Lakes in front of New Rochelle High School not far from the Children’s Public Library.

By taking photos using an iPhone with GPS location capability, working together we have been able to identify the exact location of 25 different BLUR tags.

We found additional tags along Mayflower Avenue.

We found one tag on a building located at North Avenue and Lawn Avenue.

We have reports of two additional BLUR. tags further away, one around Memorial Plaza and another in the area of Isaac E. Young Middle School but were unable to locate them.

If you would like to assist us you can take a photo with a phone with the location service switched “on” for the camera. If you have new BLUR. tag photos you can email them to robertcox@talkofthesound.com.

Using our powers of deduction, based on the location of the photos we have tagged so far we have formed a hypothesis that needs to be tested further.

1. The person is a student at New Rochelle High School – more than half the tags located so far as in and around the area near the high school along Eastchester Road.

2. The person eats lunch at or near Chicken Joe’s – several of the tags form a trail leading from the high school to Chicken Joe’s but no further.

3. The person walks home from the high school by crossing Eastchester Road, walking up Mount Joy Place and then onto Mayflower Avenue towards Pelhamdale Road.

4. BLUR. might be based on initials of his or her name: B L R. because some of the tags are just those three letters, B L R.

Micaela and I would start any investigation by asking the school district for the names of any students that live in the apartments near the intersection of Mayflower and Pelhamdale. This makes sense to us because the person is moving along Mayflower towards the Pelham border but goes to school in New Rochelle so likely lives at the end of Mayflower within the City of New Rochelle.

We might then cross-check those names to see if they match to the initials B L R.

Of course, these are just preliminary theories and will need to be adjusted as new information becomes available.

Poking holes in this theory is BLUR. tags outside this area…

…near Isaac E. Young Middle School (we have yet obtain a photo).

…near Memorial Plaza (we have yet obtain a photo).

…on a building at North Avenue and Lawn Avenue.

If you information on the identify of BLUR. you can contact Robert Cox at Talk of the Sound (robertcox@talkofthesound.com) or the New Rochelle Police Department at 914-654-2300.

UPDATE: A reader says “I personally hate the blur tagging and know that his tags are everywhere down north ave including the bus terminal (govt property) and storefronts on north ave. By his trail most likely young high school student / teenager. Ill def send you pics.” Good! We need all the help we can get. Remember, take photos with a GPS-enabled phone where possible!

UPDATE: Another reader says “sounds like blur is def a NRHS student in which case, he/she would have been practicing their “tag” in the school as well, the best “evidence” would show up on their notebooks or desk where they sit in school. i guarantee their notebooks (like all of them) are covered in the tag.”

While I was out reporting on the Kung Po Bandit, I ran across more BLUR. tags along North Avenue between the McDonald’s and the Mirage Diner, across from Iona College. I added them to the Flickr slideshow above.

UPDATE: Another reader says “I walked around IEY and the immediate vicinity today and found no instances of the “BLUR” graffiti tag. I’ll keep my eyes open and let you know if I find any instance elsewhere on this end of town.”

Great team work here!