Vandals Strike Memorial Day Parade Route

Graffiti on the facade of the large digital clock at' and at has caught the attention of passing residents. Vandals spray painted just days after the of the Memorial Day parade route.

The spray painting likely occurred Friday night, as employees said they noticed the vandalism Saturday morning. Astoria Federal Savings has covered the black spray painting with brown paper. Those who saw the vandalism said the writing was illegible but no less disappointing.

Patch was notified of the graffiti by Twitter users.

"@SyossetPatch Boooo! I don't have a photo but there is graffiti on the clock/thermo in front of 50 Jackson Ave. #Astoriafederalsavings" tweeted David Abbey. "I also noticed the same grafitti between Dunkin donuts and the barber shop #vandalism."

"@DavidAbbey @syossetpatch yea I noticed it too on the way back from the route. Yea it's a shame. :(" tweeted Lenny Graham.

"I'm very disheartened," reacted , whose removed graffiti around the . Coschignano said he has been fighting graffiti since the 1990s before he was a councilman.

"The only way to combat graffiti is to stay on top of it," said Coschignano, who said he will continue to fight it.

According to Nassau County detectives, the graffiti was not offensive so it would likely be considered criminal mischief.