The NYPD sprang into action Tuesday, painting over graffiti that for months

had defaced a recruitment mural in Greenpoint

, a day after The Post exclusively reported on the vandalism.

A crew of two cops and a lieutenant from the 94th Precinct showed up at 43 Herbert St. at about 1:30 p.m. after a Brooklyn North commander ordered them to the scene. They climbed a rickety wooden ladder and used long-handled rollers to apply a coat of off-white paint on the mural.

The officers, who declined to give their names, thanked The Post for “bringing so much attention to [the mural],” which looms over a busy stretch of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and is visible to tens of thousands of motorists a day.

The mural, painted by volunteer artist Bob Rose in 1998, had remained undisturbed until several months ago, when a vandal tagged it with the word “MAJAC!”

Rose said he wants to return the mural to its original state.

“If I could, I would be there lickety-split,” said Rose, who called the department to offer his services Tuesday, but said he got the runaround from the person who answered the phone.

“They said to send a letter to the police commissioner,” he said .