LTVSquad

Author: Control@ltvsquad.com

  • Maksim Gelman’s Graffiti Life

    Maksim Gelman’s Graffiti Life

    The story that Maksim Gelman, the man that went on a murderous rampage last weekend, was also a graffiti writer has been played up in the news a little – but what did he write? Many BK writers have pointed toward 3 tags: Wes, WS and Max.

    As it turns out, I have many photos of his tags and throwys from the day long hike of the Brooklyn freight tracks I took while shooting hundreds of photos for Brooklyn Queens Freight. Most of the photos showing the Wes, WS and Max tags did not make the cut for the printed book, though at least 2 or 3 crept in there. I’ve placed a set of these photos online here, along with some history about the spot he allegedly laid low after murdering the girl he was obsessed with.

    Most writers I’ve talked to in the last day or two tell me wasn’t much of a writer and had plenty of beef. It’s been a long while since any writer has murdered anyone. For anyone that doesn’t know, if writers have beef with each other, it’s generally settled in a fair fist fight.

    Breaking:
    Sources tell me he had a flickr stream!
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/23025603@N07/.

  • Maksim Gelman’s short lived life in Graffiti

    Maksim Gelman’s short lived life in Graffiti


    Maksim Gelman made an international name for himself this last weekend by going on a 28 hour murder spree, during which he killed 4 and attempted to kill many others. The story that the NYC press has mostly glossed over though is that this raving lunatic had prior arrests for Graffiti. This is definitely not to say that the graffiti artists of NYC ever embraced him as one of their own. Indeed, Maksim was known mostly as a toy – a wack bottom feeder with no style, little creativity, and an itch to start beef wherever he could. A quick survey of about a dozen writers yielded a universal response: Maksim sucked at life, and if his peers even knew who he was, they hated his wack handywork.

    When I inquired if anyone had photos of his work, some turned to me and said yo, YOU probably have photos of his crappy throw ups from the freight tracks of Brooklyn. And indeed, unbeknown to me, I did.

    In my documentation of the Bay Ridge Branch freight line for Brooklyn Queens Freight, I shot a few hundred photos of the graffiti along the tracks. Some of these photos contain Maksim’s scraw and throwys. The majority of the photos containing this rubbish graffiti never made the cut and were not printed in BQF. A few got in there though, usually with his scrawl going over someone else or pushed against better graffiti in a vain attempt to be seen next to such works of art.

    The most common aspect of his graffiti in these photos is that he has applied his tags over other writers, or has been crossed out by other writers. This is fairly unique across all of the photos I took on that day. No one on these tracks was jones for beef as much as Maksim (well, cept maybe another toy, but let’s not talk about him). I did no real editing/selecting of photos for this write up: what you see in these photos is how all of his graffiti seemed to appear on the freight tracks – either over someone else’s in an attempt to start a battle, or crossed out by people who hated him. For someone to go out of their way to try and start beef with other writers shows a lot of things about his personality. He wanted attention, bad or good. Full of hate and looking for a fight is the usual MO of such people.

    All of that said, Maksim will not be missed – in society or in the NYC Graffiti world. The tracks are better off without such people around.

    Props to BDPH, Vize & Indent for the 411. I wouldn’t have know I was sitting on this without the input…

  • How much does it cost to arrest a graffiti writer?

    How much does it cost to arrest a graffiti writer?

    Many Sunnyside residents were awoken in the early hours of Monday morning by a low-flying police helicopter.

    The helicopter was flying over 42nd and Queens Blvd at 2:00am as police were pursuing three teenagers who were tagging the building above Dunkin’ Donuts.

    The police tracked them down and arrested them at 41stand Queens Blvd at 2:30 am. The three—Jeffery Sanchez, Jonathan Aramis and Aileen Mahmoodi- were all charged with criminal mischief; making graffiti; and possession of a graffiti instrument, police said.

    According to our records, The NYPD has 6 helicopters. 2 – Bell 412EP’s, 3 – Bell 212’s and 1 – Bell 206.

    According to Conklin’s the average hourly flying cost is as follows:

    412EP – $1668/hour.
    212 – $1439/hour
    206 – $516/hour

    That’s not counting the officer overtime processing these kids, or the fact that the arresting officers were taken off the street probably for the rest of their tour to do the paperwork, etc. Call me crazy but in the grand scheme of things, we’re talking $1000-$5000 cost for these 3 arrests.

    Now you can argue like every other idiot on the internet does these days that ‘they did the crime and should pay the time, expense, etc’. But when you factor in the fact that NYC’s now the weed arrest capital of the US, and star tallying up how much it costs to arrest all these petty crooks (even if no ghetto bird is used) and you’re talking about perhaps millions of dollars, spent largely to keep minorities in jail or with criminal records that will hold them back some more in life. Millions blown on people catching tags and smoking weed – habits that people generally grow out of on their own as they get older. Seems like a huge, huge waste of money to me.

    Mad Props to GasAxe for the research on this one.

  • Calling Out Cope2

    Calling Out Cope2

    I’m going to preface this by saying I know nothing about Cope2 and basically have zero interest in Graff Drama (other than to watch it unfold – TV ain’t half as entertaining as this shit.

    (more…)
  • Murderous Nutcase was a Graffiti Nobody

    Murderous Nutcase was a Graffiti Nobody

    If you haven’t heard by now, a real freak broke loose this last weekend and went on a murderous rampage. Early coverage of the story did not mention though that he had prior arrests for graffiti:

    (CNN) — A New York man fatally stabbed three people, slashed at least five others, hit and killed one man with a car and hijacked two vehicles before being wrestled to the ground early Saturday while trying to break into the cab of a subway car, police said.

    Maksim Gelman, who is unemployed and known to authorities mostly as a graffiti artist, was arrested aboard a northbound train in Manhattan around 9 a.m. Saturday, about 28 hours after he allegedly began a spree that spanned three New York City boroughs, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

    So just what did this a-hole write? At press time, no one seems to know. One all city street bomber only had this to say: “He was a nobody in the graff game.”

    I knew there had to be something to this guy when they said he crossed tracks while running from slashing yet another person on the subway.

  • Just doing it for the cause…

    Just doing it for the cause…

    Look, I want to make this perfectly clear, I’m only going to say this once so pay attention, take notes, and tape said notes to your forehead for future reference.

    We here at LTV are not interested in your TV shows, Merchandising Schemes, or desires to make a fast buck off ‘urban exploring’. We don’t explore for the fame, the money or the attention. We do it because we love to do it.

    I think I can speak for must of us when I say we’ve got jobs, plenty of dates (for the single folks, plenty of us are happily married), and if we want fame, yeah we’ll take that too on our own terms. TV? Been there done that. Interviews in major news outlets? Been there done that too. We’ll talk to the press on occasion, but more often than not we turn down the interview offers.

    Occasionally we put out our own products, mostly books, a few prints at gallery shows, nothing major – though you’ll probably see a lot more of this in the future. We control the process though. Why should we hand over control of the process to anyone else, especially to media companies and corporations that just want to rape the lifestyle, make a fast buck, and move on? No thanks.

    So in a nutshell, don’t come knocking unless you’re willing to split the profits 80/20 (80 for us, that is) and realize that no, you don’t own us, and you never will.

  • ‘Probation Vacation’

    ‘Probation Vacation’

    When Bonnie and Clyde over here ain’t rolling deep with a truckload of crazed MUL motherfuckers kicking dry snitches asses, they’re creating some nifty shit worth your dollars. Their first book, ‘Probation Vacation’ is out now.

    This book has some great photos and is guaranteed to inspire and make you look into upping your own game. The print & paper quality top notch. I’ve had mine for a few weeks now and paging through it has definitely inspired me to get off my own fat ass and publish again soon.

  • LTV Racing

    Some day soon the stories from this spot will be told… until then, here’s a few more via Mr F5sky. Also, large props to The Jice Man. This one goes out to Queens.

  • There is no snow in NYC!

    There is no snow in NYC!

    The city is going fine, Broadway shows were full last night. There are lots of tourists here enjoying themselves. – Mike Bloomberg

    For anyone that doesn’t get it

    Epic Photoshop cred: Grep

  • MTA Snow Subway Service, Explained.

    MTA Snow Subway Service, Explained.

    For anyone that might not understand why some subway lines run in the snow, while others do not, consistently year after year, here’s a mini guide with explanations that the MTA never seems to want to admit to.

    Let’s take this Line by Line with 4 samplings of major routes.

    The A Train:

    The A of course is not running south of Euclid Ave, with the already famous horror story of the one train that was stuck in the snow all night.
    Explanation: The A line is above ground after Euclid Ave – first on an elevated line then on the surface (old LIRR Rockaway branch) out over Jamaica bay. Any subway line running on flat on the ground in a blizzard will soon shut down. The third rail will be buried. No power, no trains. On the Rockaway side, the subway line is elevated again- though it is not a traditional elevated subway line. It’s a solid viaduct where snow can accumulate and bury the third rail – unlike the other elevated lines in the system where the tracks sit on beams and the snow falls through.

    The 4.5.6 Lines:

    Explanation: The 4 and 6 lines only run either in tunnels (where no large amount of snow can get in) or elevated lines, where the snow simply falls between the tracks to the streets below and rarely gets a chance to cover the third rail.

    The 5 though, runs on the surface (along the route of the old NYW&B RR) in the northern Bronx, and thus will always be shut down in a major snow storm. Third rail buried, no power, no trains. Done.

    The BDFM:

    Explanation: The D runs in a cut below street level around the 9th ave station in Brooklyn, thus it’s no surprise that this line is prone to getting shut down. The B (and the Q) run through the ‘brighton beach’ line in Brooklyn, which is also a ‘cut’ below the streets, yet open to the air and elements. It’s the perfect ditch to get snowed in. It doesn’t take much for the snow to go over the 3rd rail here.

    The M line near fresh pond is on the surface, and thus prone to 3rd rail burial. You’ll note service ended where the elevated line begins.

    As for the F, the viaduct around Smith / 9 is solid, much like the A line in Rockaway. Without holes for the snow to fall through, burial happens.

    And lastly, the N and Q lines:

    Explanation: Both of these lines run in ‘cuts’ in Brooklyn. Ditches where snow gathers fast. Both lines always shut down in the snow. On the Queens end, they’re on an el, and through Manhattan in tunnels. The R rarely shuts down in the snow, because it’s in a tunnel the entire length of it’s run. Same goes for the E and a few other lines.

    Variety of subway line types
    By now you might wonder, why the hell were some subway lines built in ‘cuts’, others on elevated lines, and still others in tunnels and flat on the surface. The reason of course is hinted at above- all of these lines were build by different companies, none of which I’d imagine gave much thought to how nature might effect day to day operations of each.

    As you can gather from the above. There should never be any surprise what subway lines will shut down in the snow. When you look at the physical characteristics of where each subway runs, it’s pretty obvious what to expect.

    Of course, what has made the 2010 storm worse is the fact that it happened right after a holiday when most people were off, and even if they wanted to, a lot of workers couldn’t even make it in to clean up the mess. But that’s fodder for some other blog post..