Follow Up

-via New York Post

Manhattan prosecutors are seeking felony charges against the four young alleged graffiti vandals arrested in the recent spray-paint attack on Central Park's Bethesda Terrace, The Post has learned - even though two of the suspects are only 16...

...The graffiti is scrawled across the entire 150-year-old wall "as if they were just walking along, spraying as they walked," noted Doug Blonsky, president of the Central Park Conservancy.

The damage - which includes the tags "3D," "28," "Braze," and "Skky," along with an upside-down smiley face - can't merely be painted over or power-washed off, like most graffiti.
The terrace features mosaics of colored sandstone, a material that's too fragile to withstand that kind of blast, Blonsky said.
The sandstone is also very porous, he said, meaning it has now absorbed the purple, red and black paint like a sponge.
The only remedy is the application of a special chemical poultice that slowly draws out the spray paint, Blonsky said. For the poultice to work, the temperature of the stone must be raised to about 50 degrees, he said.
The process - which is estimated to cost between $50,000 and $60,000 - requires that carefully monitored heaters be installed on scaffolds around the affected areas, with the heat trapped inside tenting made of fire-resistant carpeting.