People have often asked me about the “Hicki & Ski” car. The idea came from the N.Y.P.D. Vandal Squad Unit. That’s right -they came to me with the idea! One day, while I was painting a handball court in the Bronx, two detectives from the Vandal Squad approached me. I was sure that they were going to give me a hard time about painting the wall, but instead, they praised my work! They then continued to ask me the most peculiar thing: would I like to paint a “Whole Car” dedication piece for Hicki & Ski as a retirement gift? I stood there in disbelief, especially when they said they would supply the paint and look out. The first thing that came to me was that they were setting me up! But I figured I’d play along for now and said I would do it.

We met at 3:00 AM on a weekday at the Buhre Avenue Lay Up on the #6 line. The DTs were there waiting and had brought the paint as they said they would. The first half hour, I was still suspicious and painted with sweat running down my face as they watched me from the train station platform. After a while, I relaxed and got into the flow of painting.

About 1 1/2 hours into the piece, a motorman showed up to warm up the train. I wasn’t sure if it was going into service, so I kept painting. It pulled out and ran unfinished on the 5 & 2 line. Two months had gone by when we decided to try again. This time, we met on the Zerega Avenue Lay-up on a Saturday night. I was sure the train would not pull out until Monday morning. I felt comfortable that they were not setting me up, so I went to work. I felt comfortable giving them my camera and asked them to take action shots. I think they were even having fun. They would let me know when a train was coming and detour people coming up the stairs to the other side -it’s amazing what the law can do when they’re on your side.

I was well into the piece when one of the detectives suddenly called me up to the platform. By the look on their face, I knew something was wrong. I jumped off the no-clearance and scrambled onto the platform. I could hear footsteps coming up the stairs. Playing it cool, I leaned against the wall as if waiting for a train. The two DTs confronted the other men who had come up the stairs. It turned out they were DTs, too! At this point, all sorts of things were running through my head. I thought things were about to go down. The other DTs had seen someone on the tracks from the next station and had come to investigate. My lookouts covered up quickly and explained that they had been on the tracks. The DTs looking out apologized for the interruption and explained that the other two officers were supposed to be off Duty.

So I went back to work and painted till the sun came up. I finished up and took pictures of the finished product. After that, I never saw those DTs again. I found out three enlargements were made; one went to Hicki, one went to SKI, and the 3rd was hanging in the Vandal Squad Station. I will tell you this: I was honored when those DTs asked me to paint that car. I know that those two DTs risked their jobs. I don’t understand why they took that chance, but I will tell you mine. I believe deep down that Hicki & Ski loved graffiti. They could have slowed me down some, but they didn’t.

Thanks for letting me have some of the best times of my life without a hassle.