New Kensington's 'Biff' is back with another mystery

Fans of New Kensington’s ‘I (heart) Biff’ graffiti are back at it.

A white sign with red lettering bearing the iconic phrase appeared this week at the site of the former Metal Working Machinery Co. building facing Mount St. Peter Church.

The graffiti had been on the side of the machinery company building facing Freeport Road for at least 30 years. The building owners would paint over it, but it never stayed covered for long because people would just go back and redo it.

‘I (heart) Biff’ meant so much to New Kensington that longtime residents Chris Lowe and Rick Radvansky made T-shirts sporting the message.

Lowe said neither he nor Radvansky made the new sign and doesn’t know who did. Radvansky could not be reached.

Lowe said he saw it Monday while stopped at the traffic light at the intersection of Freeport Road and Seventh Street.

“I looked over and I said, ‘What the heck is that?’ I was kind of in shock,” Lowe said. “ … I kind of cracked up when I saw it.”

There was an air of mystery around the graffiti for decades because no one knew who “Biff” really was.

But after the men started selling their T-shirts, former New Kensington resident Gail Lewis claimed to be the one behind the iconic message. She said it originally said “I (heart) U Biff.”

Lewis said she tagged the wall years ago in honor of her then-boyfriend David Allen Cooper, who died in August 1992. Cooper drove past the message on his way to work and thought it was funny, Lewis said.

A phone message left for Lewis wasn’t immediately returned Wednesday.

Lowe said the men have sold around 250 shirts and they’re still selling them. He said the shirts will be on sale for a couple of more weeks.

To order a shirt, visit: https://www.facebook.com/I-heart-Biff-486352338454201/.

Madasyn Czebiniak is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Madasyn at 724-226-4702, mczebiniak@tribweb.com, or via Twitter @maddyczebstrib.