The city’s Consumer Affairs Department is looking into complaints that a stencil kit sold in toy stores will turn kids into baby Banksys, a lawmaker said Monday.
The agency responded to Queens Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder’s concern that the stencil kit, called “Kidffiti,” encourages vandalism, saying it would work with retailers to discuss the product and “address any rise in graffiti related to stencil availability,” as well as potentially doing targeted inspections of stores that sell spray paint.
“They’re glorifying the use of spray paint and graffiti,” Goldfeder (D-Rockaway), told amNewYork.
Goldfeder called Kidffiti stencil kits a “training tool” that teaches young children to aerosol art in public.
“They’re not marketing this as art, they’re not marketing this as stencils. They’re marketing it as graffiti,” Goldfeder said. “Sadly, this product is not drawing that distinction.”
Jakks, the maker of Kidffiti, which comes with a can of spray chalk and five stencils including a guitar and a dragon, did not return a request for comment. Toys R Us, a major retailer that sells the kit, deferred comment to the manufacturer.
