259 replies to this topic

[mimesis]

How difficult is it to create an interactive google map that displays photos, submitted by users, of graffitti around the city? If this were well executed, it could be killer...

[Cotuit]

If people are interested in meeting and talking about the graffiti issue, you can come to the GC: Exchange next week. We can discuss making this issue a GC:PVD Initiative.

[Frankie811]

Does anyone remember the name of this place years ago ( 20/25? ) before the mob crashed something through the front window? Probably because the owner wasen't paying his tribute.

[jencoleslaw]

about 15 years ago it was Leons on the West Side, but i don't know what it was before then, back when the peppermint lounge was across the street...

[inProv]

Cotuit, on Apr 3 2007, 08:06 PM, said:

If people are interested in meeting and talking about the graffiti issue, you can come to the GC: Exchange next week. We can discuss making this issue a GC:PVD Initiative.

I think this would be a great opportunity to get more people on board with this cause. Thanks for allowing this to be part of your forum!

[markOne]

jencoleslaw, on Apr 4 2007, 07:56 AM, said:

about 15 years ago it was Leons on the West Side, but i don't know what it was before then, back when the peppermint lounge was across the street...

Ah Leon's I loved that place. I think it's fair to say it was the Nicks of its day.

[jencoleslaw]

markOne, on Apr 4 2007, 11:47 AM, said:

Ah Leon's I loved that place. I think it's fair to say it was the Nicks of its day.

ha! nice pun. Nick's NOW is where Leons ORIGINALLY was.

[Frankie811]

jencoleslaw, on Apr 4 2007, 07:56 AM, said:

about 15 years ago it was Leons on the West Side, but i don't know what it was before then, back when the peppermint lounge was across the street...

Yes, your absolutely right. However I screwed up. I just realized that the place that I was thinking of was actually on the corner of Atwells & Dean. Sorry!

[quente]

Cotuit, on Apr 3 2007, 08:06 PM, said:

If people are interested in meeting and talking about the graffiti issue, you can come to the GC: Exchange next week. We can discuss making this issue a GC:PVD Initiative.

Thanks for doing this Cotuit. I teach a class in Fall River at 7:00 but I plan on being there until 6:15. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

[Cotuit]

We will have a representative from the Mayor's office at the Greater City: Exchange on Tuesday to speak about the Graffiti Initiative and discuss ways that the community can help to improve it.

If I didn't mention it here before, we will also have members of the WBNA discussing some of their work. If you live in another part of the city, or even if you live on the West Side and are interested in the WBNAs work, this is a great opportunity to hear about it.

And even with all of that, there will be plenty of time to meet and mingle and enjoy drinks and tater tots (yes, MoJoe's has tots!).

[smcbride11]

Cotuit, on Apr 2 2007, 09:00 AM, said:

In Providence think of all the tags along the train tracks, does anyone really get that worked up about those?

Not that I'm defending the taggers, but I actually do enjoy the one just north of Branch (clearly visible from Royal Little Dr, right outside AAA) - Rocky, Bullwinkle, Boris, Natasha, Mr. Peabody and Sherman all on a wall... it's actually sorta enjoyable. I'll have to post some pictures.

Overall, though, the city's response to graffiti has been ridiculous. Having lived in Roger Williams Park and seeing the response there.... yow, we should really be embarrassed. They'd replace all the signs about once a year, and they'd be thoroughly tagged three days later. Then, about a month later, they'd paint over the graffiti - completely destroying the sign in the process. And that's how it would stay. It really was awful to see an area that should be cleaned up and made presentable (it is an awesome park) turned into an urban wasteland.

[Garris]

Just to remind everyone about tonight!

Cotuit, on Apr 4 2007, 08:36 PM, said:

We will have a representative from the Mayor's office at the Greater City: Exchange on Tuesday to speak about the Graffiti Initiative and discuss ways that the community can help to improve it.

If I didn't mention it here before, we will also have members of the WBNA discussing some of their work. If you live in another part of the city, or even if you live on the West Side and are interested in the WBNAs work, this is a great opportunity to hear about it.

And even with all of that, there will be plenty of time to meet and mingle and enjoy drinks and tater tots (yes, MoJoe's has tots!).

- Garris

[inProv]

Garris, on Apr 10 2007, 11:16 AM, said:

Just to remind everyone about tonight!
- Garris

I'm looking forward to a productive debate! This is a great opportunity for us to discuss ways that we can constructively partner with city to solve this problem. It's easy to put the blame on the city. Clearly, there are things that the Mayor's Graffiti Task Force could do to be more effective. However, in the final analysis, these are our neighborhoods that are being vandalized. If we as residents and businesses are not willing to get involved, then we are truly the ones to blame.

The following link offers a plan of action, based on programs implemented in other cities. I'm anxious to hear from anyone who is willing to help me implement any of these strategies here in Providence. A community-based anti-graffiti effort, in partnership with the city, could be very successful.

GraffitiHurts.org

[quente]

Cotuit, on Apr 3 2007, 08:06 PM, said:

Sorry I had to duck out of the meeting early to get to class; when I left, we hadn't yet heard from the City's graffiti program. So the question is: what did I miss?

More importantly, was there any discussion about the next steps that we need to take on this issue?

I enjoyed meeting everyone and look forward to working on this.

[runawayjim]

quente, on Apr 12 2007, 09:02 AM, said:

Sorry I had to duck out of the meeting early to get to class; when I left, we hadn't yet heard from the City's graffiti program. So the question is: what did I miss?

More importantly, was there any discussion about the next steps that we need to take on this issue?

I enjoyed meeting everyone and look forward to working on this.

there's a $500 reward for anyone who leads to the capture of a graffiti vandal.

there will also be penalties put in place for private property owners who don't clean graffiti within 10 days of being notified by the city. however, as bad as that sounds, the city will offer their resources to help in the clean up during those 10 days. after those 10 days, the city will do it and the owner will be responsible for the cost of removal.

that's all i remember. they also didn't know that their online form was down and suggested people call 1-800-TAGGERS until it gets fixed.

[Cotuit]

The Graffiti Taskforce started last May and had a very successful summer and fall as they ramped up and increased public awareness. They are getting ready to announce several $500 rewards for information that lead to the apprehension of an offender.

Due to their equipment not being able to work in temps below freezing, they've lost some ground over the winter, especially in notorious hot spots such as Waterplace. The question was asked about investing in equipment that can work during the winter months. The equipment they have is the result of one of the only affordable bids they received on purchasing equipment. They do want to get equipment that can work during the winter.

In addition to the Taskforce, the Parks Department has their own graffiti removal program and the Downtown Improvement District has a graffiti removal program Downtown.

The plan for the spring and the summer is to catch up on the complaints that have piled up during the winter. Also, they will be launching 10 community watch programs. Community leaders will watch for an report graffiti and clean up days will be organized with those groups.

The Providence Police have been able to head off several gang related crimes due to their ability to read the messages left through tagging between gang members.

The focus right now is on public property, the Taskforce does not need to obtain permission to clean public property and they have had a lot of problems with explicit graffiti on/near schools (some of my photos from Waterplace last year will attest to that). As reports come in, notices will be issued to private property owners that they have 10 days to clean the graffiti on their property or the city will do it (and charge them) for them. I neglected to ask if there were any other fees or fines for failure to comply or what the fee was to have the city remove the graffiti.

Many (most?) of the offenders caught thus far are minors. Cases involving minors are handled through the Family Court. The city wants the punishment to be community service including graffiti removal, but they need to work with the court to get them to issue that as a sentence. In some cases offenders have priors which mean they will be facing jail time.

I'm trying to remember what else, as I think about more I'll post more.

[MikeR]

Cotuit, on Apr 12 2007, 03:12 PM, said:

The Graffiti Taskforce started last May and had a very successful summer and fall as they ramped up and increased public awareness. They are getting ready to announce several $500 rewards for information that lead to the apprehension of an offender.

Due to their equipment not being able to work in temps below freezing, they've lost some ground over the winter, especially in notorious hot spots such as Waterplace. The question was asked about investing in equipment that can work during the winter months. The equipment they have is the result of one of the only affordable bids they received on purchasing equipment. They do want to get equipment that can work during the winter.

In addition to the Taskforce, the Parks Department has their own graffiti removal program and the Downtown Improvement District has a graffiti removal program Downtown.

The plan for the spring and the summer is to catch up on the complaints that have piled up during the winter. Also, they will be launching 10 community watch programs. Community leaders will watch for an report graffiti and clean up days will be organized with those groups.

The Providence Police have been able to head off several gang related crimes due to their ability to read the messages left through tagging between gang members.

The focus right now is on public property, the Taskforce does not need to obtain permission to clean public property and they have had a lot of problems with explicit graffiti on/near schools (some of my photos from Waterplace last year will attest to that). As reports come in, notices will be issued to private property owners that they have 10 days to clean the graffiti on their property or the city will do it (and charge them) for them. I neglected to ask if there were any other fees or fines for failure to comply or what the fee was to have the city remove the graffiti.

Many (most?) of the offenders caught thus far are minors. Cases involving minors are handled through the Family Court. The city wants the punishment to be community service including graffiti removal, but they need to work with the court to get them to issue that as a sentence. In some cases offenders have priors which mean they will be facing jail time.

I'm trying to remember what else, as I think about more I'll post more.

Let's hope this initiative gets going soon. The graffiti on the new I-195 construction near Fox Point has gotten out of control. The concrere abutments from the new bridge to India Point Park are now almost completely covered in graffiti. It's a shame that all the money that went into moving the highway is being defaced by vandals.

[Cotuit]

MikeR, on Apr 27 2007, 01:21 PM, said:

Let's hope this initiative gets going soon. The graffiti on the new I-195 construction near Fox Point has gotten out of control. The concrere abutments from the new bridge to India Point Park are now almost completely covered in graffiti. It's a shame that all the money that went into moving the highway is being defaced by vandals.

That area would not fall under the city's taskforce, that is the responsibility of the state and the contractors building the I-Way. The city has been meeting with the state and the utilities to get them to be more agressive on removal from thier property.

[Dan]

Is there anything in place to nudge property owners into cleaning up after one of these 30-second hit-and-run tag jobs? I see the 10 day rule proposition above, but what can be done now? There's a white building on the other side of the street near my house which was tagged about a week and a half ago, and it bothers me. And BTW its definitely not art, its vandalism - and I know the difference.

If it doesn't bother everyone else who owns a house on this street, it should. I've witnessed roughly $50,000 worth of home improvement-related investment in the properties (8-10 houses) adjacent to mine in the last 2 years, including the multi-family home which was used as a "canvass." One reckless act with a $3 can of paint is enough to overshadow all these good things. A friend of mine who had never been to the neighborhood before stopped by my house last week. Her first question after taking a look out the window was: "Is this a rough neighborhood?!" I think this mess and all of them should be cleaned up immediately - to send a message to the taggers that Providence doesn't tolerate this.

If it was up to me I would pick up a can of Krylon white, walk over there and paint over it right now. But I obviously don't have any right to do that, and (presumably) neither does the city since no codes have been violated. So now what?!

[inProv]

I would like to invite everyone to the College Hill Neighborhood Association's annual meeting tomorrow, May 14th at 7:30 PM at the Moses Brown School (Dwarnes Student Center). There will be a presentation on a new community-based anti-graffiti initiative that we would like to implement, based on "best practices" that have been effective in other cities. This is not just a College Hill effort. The idea is to empower residents and businesses throughout the city to become more actively involved in improving the quality of life in our neighborhoods. Your ideas and feedback would be much appreciated and welcomed. I look forward to working with anyone (individuals or groups) who would like to become actively involved this important quality of life issue. Hope to see you there!

Edited by inProv, 13 May 2007 - 11:08 AM.