Graffiti writers around the world know the name that started it all: TAKI 183. TAKI 183 was a graffiti tagger active during the late 1960s and early 1970s in New York City. His tag was short for "Dimitraki", an alternative for his Greek birth-name Dimitrios, and the number 183 came from his address on 183rd Street in Washington Heights. He worked as a foot messenger in New York City and would write his nickname around the streets that he frequented. TAKI was the first New Yorker to become famous for writing graffiti.