Friday, September 9, 2016

Graffiti taking too long to clean up


From CBS 2:

The de Blasio administration was pushing back Thursday evening after a report critical of its anti-graffiti efforts.

As CBS2’s Tony Aiello reported, the administration is understandably sensitive to complaints that quality of life has diminished on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s watch, and graffiti is certainly a major quality of life concern.

Now, there is a new report out saying the time between the city receiving a graffiti complaint and cleaning up the graffiti has increased substantially.

It is impossible to imagine New York City without graffiti, but many residents would prefer much less of it.

“Nobody is paying attention to anything anymore,” said Awilda Ortiz of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. “Even when they call, they take too long to show up.”

Indeed, a new report is critical of response times for the Graffiti-Free NYC program. City workers are using solvent to dissolve and power spray to wash away graffiti.

Three years ago, the average time between complaint and cleanup was 67 days. Last year, that grew to 114 days – far too long for critics.

Among those critics is state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Queens).

“The whole way to address graffiti is to paint over and remove it, immediately. You’ve got to go immediately,” Avella said. “So that’s totally unacceptable. It defeats the whole purpose of the program.”

16 comments:

(sarc) said...

I thought it was expressive art from the oppressed and downtrodden...

Anonymous said...

Yes the graffiti is staying around more and more. Making NYC going backwards.

Anonymous said...

I reported graffiti around my neighborhood last year to be painted over and it's still there. I guess since it doesnt involve income inequality or catering to illegals the mayor doesn't care about it.

Anonymous said...

Only 114 days? Try 2 years plus! And still waiting!

Anonymous said...

I noticed once Mayor de Blasio took office the graffiti was increasing. Removing it is as slow as plowing Maspeth out during the snowstorm.

Anonymous said...

but but but enforcing QoL laws is racist and discriminatory, right!?

Letting criminals getting away with crime because arresting them is somehow unfair, and what a shock, these are the results!

JQ LLC said...

I totally forgot about this, wasn't this started back in March?

You would think after drawing a big media circus and photo op that all those responsible with the duties from this initiative would lead to faster and efficient results. But it's all about optics as usual. Shocked, I tell you.

Of course graffiti aka street art, official and illegal, is a big selling point for the gentrification industrial complex. Somehow it has a certain aesthetic charm and allure for the hipshit demographic they are courting and prefer to populate their affordable luxury apartments and the city and boroughs as a whole.

Anonymous said...

The closing of "5 Pointz", where former graffiti vandals eyes were opened up to LEGAL mural painting was a big mistake.
Without good legal venues for developing artists, you now get what you get.
Thank you Jimmy Van Bramer for being a myopic turd and not visualizing the future.
"5 Pointz" brought at least ten bus loads of tourists, WITH MONEY TO SPEND IN LIC, each weekend.
Jimmy took $10,500 from the owner of the site, then voted for two 40 story buildings on the site.
Jimmy, claiming to be pro Union, is now party to the owner building with non Union workers.
Crooked politics comes home to roost.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't Koslowitz seen cleaning up graffiti a few weeks ago?

Anonymous said...

Ahh, yes, the purported Ozone Park graffiti program of 2009 that put 'Derelict Dullrich,' I mean Councilboy Eric Ulrich on the map, ostensibly to spearhead an entire operation to rid graffiti of our community--except that like everything else out of Ulrich's instensely failed political leadership, that program ALSO disappeared into a black hole in space--along with his OWN romantic fog with a laughable run for the mayoralty (and previously, the Senate).

But, City Hall must FIRST clean up the systemic corruption, graft and endless greed, cronyism, nepotism, favoritism and patronage from WITHIN (that always leads to more of the same cover-ups, scandal, kickbacks, payoffs--and an endless flow of dirty money in politics), before the visible filth on the walls can be addressed.

And, once all of THAT is finally cleaned up (with the help of sunshine--the best political cleansing agent of them all!), then we can finally tackle the OTHER blight that is killing all quality of life in New York City (and degrading property values citywide): Graffiti!

Anonymous said...

How long until nyc turns into Detroit?
QofL dropping like a rock. Trash all over the streets.
Cop powerless to act.
We need Rudy back in office or at least someone who cares. Don't forget to vote next year.

kapimap said...

Keep rudy away from office, the prude has turned senile. He aways turned a blind eye when it pays. He rode that 9/11 attack for all she rode.

Great way to get the homeless employed is by targetting issues like graffiti, littered abandoned lots, etc... lets get them some work!

Anonymous said...

The NYPD is following DeBozos commands to the T. They are backing down on making arrests for all QofL crimes to get even with the mayor . So things will get so bad that voters will vote him out. That's the plan.

Anonymous said...

The real problem is that the nypd's citywide grafitti task force has been downsized fron 65 cops to about 10!
Add to that that precinct manpower is also down. And remember the Borough task forces,which supplemented the local precincts? Yep,theytoo have been disbanded. You're on your own......

Anonymous said...

Oh, please!
The NYPD vandal squad was the "rubber gun squad".
These were officers who could not make it elswhere.
Every politician wanting photo ops ran graffiti cleanup days.
Avella, by the way, was one of the first, and bravo to him!
Nothing wrong with that, but how effective are all of these clean ups?
Go after the drug dealers, illegal gambling joints, whore houses, that permeate EVERY nabe, including the posh northeast.
Isn't that a bigger problem?
The reason everybody hits on graffiti is that it coukd lower real,estate values.
Thereby, brokers, developers cannot make the loads of money they crave.
Then politicians cannot be bought so easily.

Anonymous said...

Bring back Doogie Prescott's AD!