The city of Pittsburgh hopes its new anti-graffiti law makes its mark soon, but art supply shop owners aren't so sure. Art supply store managers this month joined convenience store cashiers and liquor store clerks in having to ask young-looking customers for identification. But the art stores haven't added smokes and booze to the aisles filled with paint brushes, clay and water colors. A new city of Pittsburgh law went into effect earlier this month that bans people younger than 18 from buying or possessing spray paint, indelible markers, acid and glass etching tools. Shopkeepers and parents of children who break the law face $300 fines after receiving a warning on the first offense. The law, sponsored by City Council President Gene Ricciardi and passed last month, is aimed at curbing what city officials say is a rampant graffiti problem. Ricciardi's law was partly inspired by Mook, alias for Michael J. Monack, 20, of the South Side, who is in Allegheny County Jail awaiting trial on graffiti-related charges. "What we need is a change of culture. We have to stop referring to these vandals as graffiti artists and start referring to them as a criminal element," Ricciardi said. "If anything, that is the strong message we passed with this legislation." Shopkeepers said they were familiar with the law after months of press coverage, but had not been sent any specific guidelines from the city. "I know it's been in the works for sometime," said Tim Naulty, manager of Utrecht, an art supply store along East Carson Street. "We're right here on the South Side, so we get a lot of kids coming in for that type of product. Once we get formal guidelines, we'll have to start checking ID." Ricciardi said the new law includes outreach programs in the public schools and educational, direct mail advertising campaign for business owners and parents. The law also calls on Allegheny County to pass similar legislation, to even the playing field for city-based art suppliers with their suburban counterparts. "I don't see us going in real hard for the first month or so. I imagine it will be an educational effort for the first few months," Ricciardi said. Naulty said the new law puts store owners in a tough spot. "It's a Catch-22. On one side, we're a business and we're here to make money, so this is probably going to hurt," Naulty said. "But from a community standpoint, these kids are out there tagging, and maybe this is one way to cut down on some of that damage." Tom Sarver, who manages Top Notch Art Center in Oakland, said the store already has carded a handful of underage, would-be customers. "It seems pretty crazy to target art stores when people can buy the indelible products almost anywhere," Sarver said. "The other side is that a lot of the people doing this are over 18, so I'm not sure how effective it will be in stopping graffiti." "You wait and see," Ricciardi promises. "We've modeled this law from what I feel are the best anti-graffiti laws in the country, and every city I have talked to has said they saw a decrease in problems once they implemented the laws."

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