[whataretheysaying] Mary Madigan: Why are there always sneakers hanging from telephone wires - could it be drug gangs?

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Posted by Mary Madigan:
Why are there always sneakers hanging from telephone wires - could it be drug gangs?
http://whataretheysaying.powerblogs.com/posts/1190041305.shtml


   [1]sneakerstelephone 

   The hard-hitting investigative reporters of the Star Ledger filed this
   report from Newark: [2]Shoe Mystery hangs over city:

     George Williams has no doubt that the gray suede tennis shoes
     dangling from the telephone wire high above his house on 18th
     Avenue in Newark signify that drugs are sold there.

     Not long ago they were.

     "Those people don't live here anymore. Left in January," said
     Williams, who points to the bullet hole in his 1976 Pontiac Grand
     Prix and another below his neighbor's mailbox to prove how rugged
     the area is just off Avon Avenue.

     Knotted shoes or sneakers hanging from utility wires are common in
     Newark. What it signifies depends on whom you ask. Some say it's a
     sign drugs are being sold in the area. Others say it marks a gang's
     territory. Or maybe it's just the result of some kids having fun.

     Whatever it means, Newark Councilman-at-large Carlos Gonzalez
     believes it isn't good. His recent unanimously approved resolution
     calls on Verizon and PSE&G to help the city take the hanging
     footwear down.

     "To most people it means we are ready to deal," said Gonzalez,
     referring to drug sales. "Regardless, we want to keep our community
     as clean as possible. It's a quality of life issue."

     It's also not an issue that's unique to Newark. Ed Kohler, a
     Minneapolis-based Internet marketing consultant, coined the term
     "shoefiti" in 2005 to describe shoes or sneakers hanging by their
     laces from telephone or power lines. The term is linked to graffiti
     because like the outdoor tags, they are considered either an
     artistic form of expression or markings of gangs and criminal
     activity. His Web site tracks shoefiti news.

     "It's kind of a worldwide phenomena. You see it in New York, New
     Jersey and Los Angeles, but Australia and Poland also have a lot of
     shoefiti," said Kohler...

   In their next investigative report, the Star Ledger will answer the
   other timeless questions of life - like, why was there always gum on
   the underside of your desk in high school? Why do people flash their
   headlights at you in the dark?

   Are roving teams of assassins sending each other signals via secret
   code or could Columbian drug lords be to blame? Enquiring minds want
   to know.

References

   1. http://blog.zsr.wfu.edu/social_stratification/?author=3
   2. http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1189917390313570.xml&coll=1