La Rosa Brothers Deli has fallen victim to graffiti hits recently and establishment owners, Sal and Angelo La Rosa, are concerned that they will once again see an increase in such vandalism, with which they are unfortunately far too familiar. About a year and a half ago, the deli, on Wolcott Road in Levittown, was often a location not only popular for graffiti, but other vandalism such as broken beer bottles and damage to its grounds and gardens.

According to Sal La Rosa, he and Angelo spent approximately $80,000 to renovate and upgrade the buildings which make up the establishment, as it is also a food distributor and caterer, in addition to being a delicatessen. After spending so much to upgrade and beautify both the buildings and grounds, it was disappointing to them that shortly thereafter they experienced a string of graffiti hits and much vandalism.

"We try to take care of the grounds, I plant flowers and put in bushes," said Angelo. "They'll ride their bikes across, pull out the flowers and tear out bushes."

Although they've only experienced one hit of graffiti so far this year, Sal and Angelo fear that more will come with the weather getting warmer. Each time they discover graffiti, the brothers attempt to wash it off, often having to use graffiti remover to help repair the damages. Sal explained that if painting is necessary, it looks silly to just paint over the one spot where there is graffiti, so it's often necessary to repaint an entire wall, which ends up being costly.

Angelo noted that one possible solution would be to fence in the property, but being pretty much in a residential area, neighboring the Levittown Baptist Church, a fence would look very unattractive.

The La Rosa brothers contacted police after discovering this most recent hit. After speaking with a detective, as well as knowing from past incidents, they realize it's very difficult to catch a culprit unless an eyewitness is willing to turn in and testify against the individual or individuals who are causing the damage, or if the vandal is caught in the act. Such successes are very rare, so now the brothers are reaching out to the community for their assistance.

Sal and Angelo are offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. If anybody in the community has information or sees any suspicious activity at the establishment, call La Rosa Brothers at 796-7700. La Rosa Brothers is located at 46 Wolcott Road in Levittown.