COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — There are a lot of ways to settle disputes between neighbors. Some are witty. Some are petty. And then there’s a tattoo shop in Colorado Springs taking it to a whole new level.
After a parking dispute between the neighbors, Fallen Heroes Tattoo decided to use the artistic talents of its artists to paint a phallic mural on its one-story roof so that residents of the much taller apartment building next door would look out and see it.
"The mural is basically a tow truck driver towing a car. He’s a big old d*** running over d***s while other d***s are running away from him doing Colorado activities like mountain biking, snowboarding, stuff like that," said artist Paes, who painted the mural on top of the tattoo shop he works.
We can't show that on TV, but if you'd like to see the unblurred video, you can watch it on the Next YouTube Channel here. Viewer discretion is advised.
The new apartment building next door has been towing customers' cars parked in their spots. They share an alley, but there are only signs on the apartment side that say, 'resident parking only.' Still, the whole alley, even the spots right next to the tattoo shop that are not labeled, are only for apartment residents. It’s confusing, and the tattoo shop says at least 45 of their customers have gotten their cars towed in the past three months for parking in the spaces outside their building.
"It’s just been a parking dispute," Paes said. "We tried to work together, and it really got nowhere, do we knew something like this mural would get their attention. They were the ones being d***s at first, so it’s basically a sword fight right now. I feel like we’re winning."
To get back at them, they did what tattoo artists do best. Paes shared a video on his Instagram page of him painting the mural.
"We’re talking, talking and Paes recommended, 'hey, why don’t we do a d*** mural. We’ll fight back with a d*** mural,"' said David Brown, the owner of Fallen Heroes Tattoo. "Where does that even come from? But wait a second, that’s a great idea. That’s easy to draw. I think we’ve all been drawing them since about the sixth, seventh grade."
Brown has been fielding phone calls from reporters across the country about his dispute with the apartment building.
"I mean we’re six days away from the most important election of my lifetime and here we are talking about the d***s on my roof," Brown joked.
Brown said they’re ready to paint over everything when the dispute is settled, but until then, they plan to leave the phallic mural up.
"There’s a possibility that we’re the d***s in all of this," Brown said. "Because maybe the rest of downtown Colorado Springs wants a building that looks like Ikea threw up. Maybe the rest of Colorado Springs wants that beautiful view of Pikes Peak gone. So, maybe we’re the d***s. So, then we decided to do a mural of all of us doing stuff on the mountains we couldn't see anymore."
In a statement, the City of Colorado Springs said they have not received any code enforcement complaints about the mural.
"This mural would not fall under graffiti in city code, as it was approved by the owner of the property. At this time, can't say if it would violate any other laws," the statement read in part.
In a statement to our partners KRDO in Colorado Springs, the apartment management company said it is open to resolving the dispute.
"At 532CO Apartments, we have ample signage clearly designating the areas for resident parking only, specifically within our designated lot. Our towing policies apply strictly to vehicles in this lot, and we do not tow from public spaces such as the street or alley. If we were towing from public areas, we would be in contact with the city regarding such issues; however, this has not been a concern, as our practices comply fully with city regulations and are limited solely to private parking areas reserved for our residents.
We understand the importance of clear communication with our neighbors and encourage businesses in the area to reach out if they have any concerns. To date, we have not been made aware of unresolved contact attempts, but we are more than willing to establish an open line of communication to ensure a mutual understanding."
-Maria Estes, Boardwalk Property Management
