Less than 24 hours later after it first appeared, the new Banksy that just went up on Allen Street in Chinatown has already been slightly tagged, pilfered, then fixed and tastefully altered with some stinging commentary.


Late last night, hours after someone scrawled a tag near the piece, the Smart Crew descended on the spot. They didn’t mess with the stenciled part of the piece and since the “Graffiti is a Crime” sign had been removed, they replaced it with a similar-looking one, except it was branded with their logo and reads “Street Art Is a Crime.”

Compare it to the original sign Banksy installedm below. UPDATE: It’s already been buffed (and there’s a new one).