Four young taggers who covered a Central Park landmark in spray paint were caught purple-handed nearby, sources said yesterday.
The alleged graffiti vandals spray-painted the walls and pillars of the Bethesda Terrace, off 72nd Street in the center of the park, near the famed Bethesda Fountain.
“There is a shocking amount of damage,” said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, who called the mural “one of America’s great works of art.”
David Gonzalez Jr., 20, Aisha Calow, 18, Victoria Deniaminova, 16, and Sabrina Santiago, 16, were charged with misdemeanors for allegedly scrawling “3D” and “U not ready” in purple and black on wall murals and sandstone pillars.
The damage was estimated at between $50,000 and $100,000.
“It’s like someone going to the Met and spray-painting a portrait of Washington,” said one arresting officer.
Parkgoers were equally upset by the desecration.
“It’s an act of barbarianism,” said Guy Winggins, 46. “It brings me back to the time in the city where people had no respect for open spaces.”