From gates to walls, bridges to tunnels, there was nowhere in the five boroughs untouched by the tag of Jimmy Conte, better known in graffiti circles as VE One. A Brooklyn native and certified legend in the graff world, VE’s name was etched across New York City in the early 1990s, a bold signature of street fame. But on the weekend of the Puerto Rican Day Parade in 1996, that legacy was tragically cut short.
On the night of June 8, 1996, just hours before the city would erupt in celebration, VE One was shot and killed. The streets were packed, the city was alive and in the middle of the pre-parade chaos, a single bullet ended the life of one of Brooklyn’s most respected graff generals.
His close friend and fellow graffiti writer SKUF shared a chilling firsthand account with The Source of what happened that night 29 years ago:
“He was in old Bushwick hanging with us… It was Saturday night into Sunday morning. The PR parade was the next day. It used to get crazy out there—people partying on the streets, unofficial marching… Basically pre-gaming for the parade.
We were out there with one of the many groups walking around—drinking, smoking, writing on shit. In the middle of the craziness, a shot rang out. It hit VE.
One single shot… and that one shot took my friend’s young life.
No one knows where it came from or why someone shot at our group. All you hear are speculations and rumors. But I was there—and if I don’t know, how the fuck would anyone who wasn’t there know?
Rest easy, my friend VE…”
To this day, VE’s name continues to live on, not just on concrete and steel, but in the hearts of those who knew him, painted with him, and respected his mark on New York City’s graffiti culture.
