Village 'still in love' with its graffiti

Is it the work of a Romeo, penning a testament of love to his Juliet on a Valentine's Day long ago? Or a civic booster, moved to poetry after gazing at Northport Harbor?

No one knows who is responsible for painting "Still in Love" on the sidewalk along Bayview Avenue. The phrase has been painted there for more than 30 years, touched up regularly in different shades -- currently a bright blue.

While most graffiti in Northport is considered vandalism, this one near Northport Park has found its way into the hearts of village residents.

"It's one of those charming little heartwarming things about our community," Deputy Mayor Henry Tobin said. "I think a lot of graffiti either announces, 'I am here' or hurls insults or screams an opinion. This is graffiti that declares love. Who wouldn't like graffiti like that?"

The phrase is painted in block capital letters. Each word takes up its own line, covering about a slab and a half of sidewalk concrete.

The work has become so much a part of Northport that it enjoys special village protection, Mayor George Doll said.

"We have informed the Highway Department if they ever have to do maintenance on the sidewalk, they're not allowed to remove that slab," Doll said. "And if they do have to remove it, and they put the new slab down, they have to repaint it."

Dave Weber Jr., general manager of Seymour's Boatyard on Bayview, has watched the graffiti change colors over 16 years and said he believes a Northport resident must be behind it.

"Every week or every month it gets a fresh coat of paint," Weber said. "It's got to be a neighbor."

A longtime Bayview Avenue resident who goes by the name of "Captain Harold" guessed the painted phrase was the work of someone overwhelmed with love for the village and its parks.

"Somebody walking down here looked at this beautiful place and decided to desecrate it with graffiti," he said, laughing.

Liz Moritz, who said she has worked at Seymour's for 15 years, takes a more utilitarian view -- she uses it as a marker for parking her car in the summer.

"When I get next to those words, my car will be in the shade," Moritz said.

Northport's top law enforcer has no desire to catch the smitten perp.

"Oh, I love that graffiti," village police chief Ric Bruckenthal said. "When I walk past with my wife, I point it out and say, 'You see?' "

While the village often removes graffiti as soon as it is discovered, Bruckenthal said he's never received any complaints about the sidewalk phrase. Nor has he ever discovered who the scofflaw is behind the scrawl, he said.

"We're not going to do surveillance to find out who's still in love," Bruckenthal joked. "It is graffiti. You can't dispute that. But there are worse things to worry about than this 'Still in Love' on the ground."