"Some call it scratchiti, a word that lends it an air of near-dignity it hardly deserves. It is the etching of nicknames into subway-car windows and walls, usually by teen-agers armed with keys, coins, razor blades and, if you can believe this, super-sharp rocks formed from lava, to be found in many hardware stores."
—Clyde Haberman, "New Vandals Scratching Up The Subways," The New York Times," January 26, 1999

It is costing the Transit Authority upwards of $ 20 million yearly to combat the "scratchiti" inflicted on us by a new generation of defacers. The money is spent replacing scratched glass and on cleaning crews who can wipe off the lighter scratches.
—Dennis Duggan, "A New War on 'Scratchiti'," Newsday, April 6, 1995