NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Police were in a standoff for several hours with a graffiti artist caught spray painting a Super Mario Bros. question block on a Brooklyn water tower Thursday, officials said.
The graffiti artist was seen painting a large yellow square on a tower located opposite of 67 West Street in Greenpoint just before 8:20 a.m.
Officers requested he descend from the structure and he retreated inside the tower for several hours, police said.
After having no contact with him for several hours, officials became concerned and "utilized a drone in an attempt to make contact with him," NYPD Special ops Chief Wilson Aramboles said during a press conference on Thursday.
ESU officers and an NYPD helicopter shone flood lights on the structure and saw him popping his head through a hatch at the top of the 10-story tower, sources said.
At 1:30 p.m, police were able to make contact and the artist "signaled he would descend the tower," and was placed in police custody, Aramboles added.
No injuries were reported, police said.





