Rubber chickens, plastic shrimp, little monsters, a crystal ball and Maggie Simpson filled traffic hazards in Ithaca last weekend as the Buffalo Pothole Bandit returned to fill five potholes around town with mosaic art.
Originally from Buffalo, the Bandit travels across the country to fill potholes with original art. After visiting Ithaca last July to fill nine potholes, the Bandit returned to fill some more after feeling appreciation from the community, they wrote in a statement to The Sun.
This time, the Bandit did not work alone. One of the five new designs was made by a 6-year-old “bandito” named “Eagle Eye,” and featured a family of green creatures named “Big Mouth” and “Lil Mouth” on E Buffalo Street.
A Bandito helped the Bandit leave an original design on E Buffalo Street.
According to the Bandit, a “bandito” is anyone who assists with a hole, whether short or long term. Banditos assisted the Bandit with a couple other designs in Ithaca this summer, as well, according to their Instagram posts.
Stewart Avenue’s pride-themed electrical box served as inspiration for one of the Bandit’s new designs, according to their Instagram. They designed a new mosaic on the same street that reads, “You’re gay,” on a crystal ball as a tribute to the box.
The Bandit created an original pride-themed mosaic design on the street in front of Stewart Avenue's decorated electrical box.
The pride-themed electrical box on Stewart Avenue.
The Bandit also repaired a large piece they made last summer on the corner of Columbia and Aurora Streets. The design depicts Homer Simpson backing into a bush, in reference to a popular meme. The Bandit left some new additions on the design, including a message praising Ithaca and sparkly charms.
The Bandit made repairs to their large design of Homer Simpson when they returned to Ithaca this summer.
The Bandit left a new message on their Homer Simpson design.
The Bandit added a sparkly touch to their Homer Simpson design, which they created last summer.
Adding a second Simpson to Ithaca’s streets, the Bandit left a mosaic illustrating Maggie Simpson on N Aurora Street. Maggie is kept company by another original design displaying three-dimensional shrimp on the same street.
The Bandit left two original designs beside each other, one depicting Maggie Simpson and the other depicting shrimp.
“Fun, utility, or beauty” mark the Bandit’s reasons for taking the potholes into their own hands. They described their new rubber chickens on E Buffalo Street as a fun project, while they described the Homer mosaic as filling “a really terrible hole that caused people inconvenience.”
The Bandit pasted three rubber chickens into the street as a part of their design on E Buffalo Street.
Potholes, caused from water seeping into cracks in the road and expanding when temperatures drop, are a prevalent issue in Ithaca.
The Bandit’s art has made a noticeable impact on the Ithaca community, with children and passerby stopping to stare at the shiny designs as they walk by. Someone even marked the Homer Simpson mosaic as a “historical landmark” on Google Maps, the Bandit mentioned.
After building a repertoire of over 270 filled potholes in four years, the Bandit wrote that they have received mostly positive response from the communities they have visited. Their return to Ithaca was announced via Instagram the week before they visited, and they also take requests for holes to be filled around the Western New York area.
“In my case I just do it and hope for the best,” the Bandit wrote when asked if they ask for permission to fill the holes. “I usually fill them in artsy towns I think will appreciate them (like Ithaca). However even some smaller more conservative towns have allowed them to stay.”
Their work is mostly self-funded, and they rely on donations to continue. Some larger jobs necessitate many materials, like the Homer Simpson design, which took three bags of cement, green dye, tiles and adhesives to complete last summer.
The Bandit opts to stay private in their work, allowing the work to speak for itself.
“I like being judged on the work I do not who I am,” the Bandit wrote to The Sun.
Outside of filling holes in Ithaca, much of the Bandit’s work takes place in Buffalo. They are currently working on the Buffalo HOPE project, where they made wooden buffaloes, gave them to local artists and instructed them to paint something with the theme of “hope.” The Bandit then bolts the painted buffalos to street signs in Buffalo.
While the Bandit does not plan on stopping their pothole work, they are training people to continue pothole-filling work in cities.
“It’s important to share knowledge with others, especially when it brings joy to society,” the Bandit wrote. “There is only one of Me and there are many many potholes.”
They noted that mosaic is not common in the United States, so it is important to them to share the craft across the country.
Four people in Ithaca have been trained by the Bandit, alongside others in Portland, Oregon and New Orleans. They also hope to train people in Buffalo in the future.
At its core, the Bandit’s work centers around expression and community. In a statement to The Sun, they summed up their message in one sentence.
“Have fun, be yourself, be nice, and take care of your community,” they wrote.
Everett Chambala is an assistant news editor for the 144th board. He is working as the primary summer reporter for The Cornell Daily Sun through The Sun’s summer fellowship program.
Everett Chambala is a member of the Class of 2027 in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He is an assistant news editor for the 144th Editorial Board and can be reached at echambala@cornellsun.com.
