Alright… look.  The Alley is going into it’s THIRD summer.  Until recently we have enjoyed a place to hang out that has played by different rules than the rest of the neighborhood–being able to gather around things in common instead of seperating over what is not, having a place to paint without worrying about neighbors/police/beef from other writers, mentoring/teaching/sharing our ideas and skills without letting pride and arrogance stop us from uniting– and ALL of this has been pretty drama-free since 2004!!!  Congratulations… this means things have been handled VERY responsibly and that’s a pat on the back to all of you. 

HOWEVER… we ARE still in the hood.  And the neighborhood around The Alley, as in other neighborhoods/streets, has been experiencing some drama that we wouldn’t want ANY of you to get caught up in since it has NOTHING to do with the people who use The Alley or any graf writers at all. 

There are some small, easy things we can do back there to keep it close to the tradition of drama-free good times.  If we all do them, we will be fine.  There are some things you need to keep in mind–alot of it is common sense but some of it is just being overly-cautious to prevent yourself/others from being in a situation. 

1.  Stay behind the lot.  If you’re past the lot you’re not as visible and you put yourself at unnecessary risk.  In the past there have been garages to paint on/look at all down the alley but it is safer and easier to maintain to have everyone and everything in one place.  The major pieces (Pherz, Tale) down the alley have been disrespected by one gang, and then gone over by another… which means that they both have been in the alley.  We all know how that can get… since them all not liking each other has nothing to do with all of us I think that gang activity (and tagging) has made the rest of the alley unpredictable.  We’re working on adding garages nearby but also in places that are visible to the next street over.  *thumbsup*  The pieces/garages down the alley that have our work on them and have been disrespected WILL be buffed soon so that their behavior doesn’t reflect badly on what we’re doing!!!

2.  Don’t come alone or with just one other person.  Try to come in groups of 3 or larger (preferbly larger).  This is just for safety.  You can get REAL involved when you’re painting and when you’re not paying attention, ANYWHERE, you’re not being as safe as you could.  Have someone there to give you feedback on your work and the confidence that someone is paying attention even when you can’t.  If you feel like there’s may be an issue (feel unsafe) then LEAVE.  The walls will be there when you come back… don’t risk an incident.  Remember: The Alley CAN be taken from us since it exists with permission because people believe in what we’re doing.  So do your part to keep it safe.

3.  CLEAN UP!!  The Alley has been cleaned but still needs more.  Soon we will organize a group-effort cleanup but for now don’t leave caps, cans, or other trash laying around.  Put it in the bag that’s back there or, like some people, take it with you in a bag and throw it away at home.  It was starting to look pretty bad.  We’ll talk more about this later including identifying which garages are game and the rules.

4. Spread the word.  Tell other people about what we’re doing and what what’s going on.  The more that REALLY know what’s going on the better off we’ll all be… not everyone is going to come online, or talk to us about The Alley so help pass the word around a little… it will payoff when things go smooth because EVERYONE knows how to act.

That’s all for now… REMEMBER, let other people know what’s up.  The more we’re together on all this, the smoother it will go.  The smoother everything goes, the more time/energy we have to spend on maintaining The Alley and helping it to grow/improve.  We’re working right now to address some of the recent issues and make some decisions about The Alley… in the meantime let’s do these four simple things to help avoid future issues.