City Department of Transportation crews showed their graffiti-busting bona fides at the Manhattan Bridge on Friday to fend off criticism that the agency was shirking its clean up duties.
State Sen. Tony Avella of Queens had complained that Mayor de Blasio and the DOT “cannot walk and chew gum at the same time” because they declined his request to issue a contract to hire cleaners for agency property like street lights and traffic signs.
The agency told Avella it was “difficult for DOT to expend many precious resources for the removal of graffiti at the expense of needed maintenance and transportation improvements.”
But as crews on Friday attacked graffiti in a bridge underpass with potent-smelling chemicals and hot water, Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said no money had been diverted from graffiti clean up of bridges and other structures. The DOT is working with the city's Economic Development Corporation on a $7 million removal effort,she said.
“We're working closely with them and identifying hot spots where we see a lot of graffiti," she said.
While the DOT is focused on Vision Zero street safety projects, she said, “the mayor also is a believer in the broken windows theory and is investing also to do graffiti clean up.”
11 comments:
It'll just come back. Everytime they clean up the graffiti, it just comes back again. Mayor shitberg tried to clean up the graffiti too and look at where that went! Let mayor dumblasio "imagine" that image in his head along with the dancing sugar plums and fairies that he thinks is going to come into nyc while he's on vacation or campaigning with clinton and cleaning up all of nyc in a heartbeat. His "visions" simply are just in his head and will never become real because we have too much crap that lives in this city. Our neighborhoods are a reflection of the people who live in them.
I don't get it. Why in all of these discussions does no one ever talk about enforcement? They speak of the need for more money of course, lots of it. It doesn't matter if it's graffiti or litter or public shitting or public masterbation or loitering in the subways by bums it is always about the lack of funds to address the problem. How about arresting some of this scum and make an example of them. Put them on public labor gangs to clean up the mess they have made. And I know the ACLU will file a lawsuit but it doesn't matter if they eventually make the city stop. The result would still be a positive one, the city would have sent the message that they are going to have their balls broken for this kind of behavior. If we don't at least try to promote civil behavior we are on the way to an unlivable shit hole of a city like we had in the seventies and early eighties.
The graffiti cleanup can't be done once/year to be effective. Unfortunately, to deter the behavior, the graffiti must be cleaned early and often. This would be a good community service project for people to do, along with trash cleanup on the highway or in parks.
Camel, the problem is that when cops start enforcing this stuff, you often hear people complain "don't they have anything better to do? There's slashings and vehicular homicide going on, and these people are worrying about litter?!"
Res you are correct and this is why I believe we are in big trouble. We don't have political leaders or police brass that have enough courage to step up and tell the public the truth. That truth is that if we crack down on the scum and potential scum often enough and consistently enough for the " minor" stuff then a lot of the more serious stuff won't happen. Giuliani knew this and his policies of minor infraction crackdown cleaned up the city in most cases. Unfortunately even Giuliani never really got the graffiti and litter problem completely under control but now it is getting much worse.
All the politicians and Agencies complain that we don't have the money for maintenance and enforcement. They also complain and pass the blame to others.BULLSHIT, what about the millions of dollars that are offered in the participatory budget voting. Money that should be going to our communities, not for projects that should have been paid for by the agency responsible
The Participatory Budget voting is a scam that needs to be stopped. Spend the money where it's really needed. On our communities.
What about all these illegal, permanently glued Posters & Stickers that residentls have difficulty removing completely on Light Poles & Traffic Signs that DSNY refuses to remove?!
Issue a contract to hire cleaners ?
Oh bullshit--- whats wrong with Avella good guy but some of the stuff he says is just outrageous like Trump!!!
One need to plant an idea in the asshole mayor's head to create a graffiti cleanup program where Rikers prisoners convicted of non violent offenses can reduce their sentences by enrolling. Make some room in the jails AND cleanup Queens.
2: Make graffiti a felony with jail time to increase its workforce pool.
Last: You dont need $$ Eisenstein experts to use citrus cleaner, hot water & power washers. All these so called "chemicals" are "VOC and OSHA Compliant"
Put the bastards to work on chain gangs like Sheriff Joe in Arizona and cleanup Queens! !!!
@Camel
Amen brother, agree 100% with you.
Back in the early to late 70s when when Ridgewood had groups like the "Boogiemen" "greenhouse gang" and "68 park gang" the savages never came north of Cypress ave to pull this graffiti shit.
Particularly the The Boogiemen. Those guys got their name because they always Muster & travel along around the railroad tracks and could appear in large numbers out of nowhere like ghosts. They would almost always catch the vandals & muggers because they always ran south. Really beat them senseless and paint the faces & hair with the vandals own spray cans. Sometimes jab the burglars own tools through the hands, smash hands in car doors, boxcar sliding doors
The railroad people loved them, even acquired them a clubhouse in a large warehouse along the Decatur street section of track.
Why dont we have young energetic neighborhood watch groups like this now ?
How about they start repairing lights and re-painting pavement markings....
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