More than 2 dozen Jersey City businesses defaced by vandals

JERSEY CITY (WABC) -- More than two dozen businesses in New Jersey were defaced by vandals, and authorities are hoping surveillance video will lead to arrests.

Police say four people quickly spray painted the storefronts on Newark Avenue in Jersey City.

The graffiti has since been removed, but the video catches the vandals in the act between 3:15 a.m. and 4:15 a.m. Monday.

Two of them are seen tagging the security gates at two of the shops.

In total, 28 stores on the street were painted.

"Very loud, very rowdy, it was like doing whatever they want to do," said store owner Rabindranauth Singh, who lives above his business. "Let's party. And I hear 'bang bang' on the gate."

Police say they don't believe the graffiti involved gang tags. It remains, however, a crime, with shop owners saying more police patrols are necessary. And they've asked before.

"When you call for such a, nobody comes, nobody pays attention," Singh said. "The operator would say we have more important things to do."

The businesses are thanking the Jersey City Incinerator Authority and Public Works, which responded and spray-washed or painted over the graffiti within a few hours.