I'm about as subtle as a hand grenade, and I come off heavy-handed but it's never without reason. Honestly, I don't mind if people b!tch and moan about a legit gripe. But when there's b!tching and moaning and it's not even accurate? bizbiz's post basically suggests that the city has nothing in place to abate graffiti - and goes on to suggest that city leaders don't even care. "Speed limit signs and highway exit signs should not be obstructed by grafitti. Not only do many remain uncleaned for months or years, but it seems like ODOT, the city, and whoever else just doesn't give a shit.". I assure you that people, and yes - even the city "gives a sh!t" and then some. Does it take time to remove graffiti - sometimes a LOT of time? Yes - but I suppose the city should drop everything, stop rounding up gun-toting criminals, and scrub some highway signs? I live in Tremont and I see a lot of the graffiti bizbiz talks about - I see some of it removed within days, some of it takes longer. There's only so much the city can be held responsible for - and I do think they're doing the best they can with what they have.

 

Now, if/when bizbiz makes a call to the graffiti abatement folks and (hopefully this isn't the case) doesn't receive a satisfactory resolution - THEN I'm all ears and yes, something needs to be done. However, when people complain that "the city doesn't care", "there's no desire to stop ______", and it's flat out wrong - I'm not being harsh at all.

 

I initially contacted MidTown Cleveland regarding new grafitti that I had found late last year. I spoke to a minimum of 2 people in their organization. I said I was willing to do whatever it took to clean up the area. As a business owner in the neighborhood, I told their main guy (David Maske) that I'd clean it up myself if tools and equipment were provided. I was told to contact the city of Cleveland's special grafitti department. The woman I spoke to in that department (name not remembered) said to call back in 2 weeks if the grafitti hadn't been cleaned up. I told her that grafitti in MidTown hasn't been cleaned up in years, including the "FUCK YOU" on the EB Optical building on E. 30th St. (which as of 6-25-07) still hasn't been cleaned up. It's been there for well over a year now. It was one of those dead end complaints where I called back and got a voice mail and left a message and never had my call returned. Why bother calling back? I am sick of leaving voice messages and nobody returning my calls or people telling me to call so-and-so. I've spent a lot of money on grafitti remover, brushes, and cover-up paint - just ask Sutton Hardware how much money I have spent there. I've inhaled a lot of chemicals doing this work, and I've stained some of my clothes in the process. I don't like removing grafitti from other businesses property, especially since they have the ability to remove it but just seem to not care, but I still do it anyways because I care about my neighborhood and I hate to see nice buildings destroyed. I suppose before complaining any further, I will call the departments listed above by Mayday and address the problem to them and allow them a chance to rectify some of the big grafitti problems in my neighborhood. We'll see if anything happens. Complaining isn't the solution, but ignoring it isn't either.

I also suggest contacting the council person for that area and the local police precinct. 

 

We had graffiti on the corner and thats what I did.  The vandals (shaker kids) were caught a few weeks later.

 

Phone calling and email works for me.

bizbiz, don't get me wrong - I agree with, and empathize with your frustration - and I applaud your efforts and I hope things get taken care of. It's just that in recent months - and not just on the forum - I've heard a lot of people complain about a problem that is somehow the city's fault. When I question them a little, it becomes clear that they haven't done anything other than b!tch about it, and more importantly - haven't contacted their councilperson or the appropriate department to resolve the problem. A few of the people in question - I said, "well, have you tried contacting ______?" and across the board it was nothing but "ohhh, they won't do anything" or "twenty years ago, they wouldn't help me with _____". And people wonder why I get irked when I hear blanket statements like "the city, and whoever else just doesn't give a shit.". Please - keep us posted with your results.

OK, I have a big sense of humor and an open mind, so I am trying not to laugh too hard but I am writing this while waiting on hold with "Mr. Warren or Mr. Powers for processing at the facility located at 49th and Harvard. The direct number to that location is (216) 432-6000."

 

A man answers and I tell him the situation. My street has a lot of grafitti that needs cleaned up. He puts me on hold for 5 minutes. Comes back and says, "you called the right department, but I got no pen on me". He adds, "Normally, you call the councilman and he calls us here!" He keeps saying, "Nobody in here got a pen". I am assuming he is not in his office and he then says, "You called the right department, don't get me wrong, but I don't got a pen to write your complaint down." So he says he is going to put me on hold for 15 minutes and he is not trying to get rid of me. I then say that I will make a big issue out of this because a larger group of people are counting on you to help me. He places me on hold. About 10 minutes later (I am so happy I didn't have to wait the full 15 for him to grab a pen), he comes back and says "I FOUND A PEN!"

 

So again, I have an open mind and a sense of humor so I laughed this off. I told him the situation and he said, "ALL I CAN DO is tell my foreman". I asked who the foreman is and he said, "They out on the street cleaning up everyday." Then he said, "We'll tell the councilman and he address the problem." Mind you, in the beginning of the call, he said that the councilman refers the problem to him, now he is saying he refers the problem to the councilman. Endless loop? Ha!

 

So anyways, he didn't promise me anything. And he took my name down. I told him "JOHN, J-O-H-N" and he said, "Jeff how do you spell that." I sort of laughed, realizing that this is a joke. I got his name, which is Ricky, and I said, "Thanks Ricky! Take care!"

 

I challenge anyone who thinks I am making this up to call the department and see for themselves what it's like to call a grafitti complaint center and get put on hold while they look for a pen.

 

One thing I want to comment on is that I had lunch with Mr. Cimperman and addressed the grafitti problem to his face back in February.

Complain to the councilperson and address the lack of professionalism you received. Your tax dollars and time were being wasted because people don't have pens? Now that is what I am referring to when I say "legit gripe".

^ I plan on it. I will call my councilman but do you suggest any other departments or people to voice my complaint out to? Don't ya just love live events as they unfold here on Urbanohio?

Always start with your councilman - if push reeeeally comes to shove, there's always the I-team ;-)

 

To be fair, when I emailed my councilman about broken pavement on West 14th - they replied within 30 minutes and the road was patched that afternoon. There are good people working for the city, just as there are some yutzes so hopefully they'll get their people into shape for you.

I just left a voicemail for Councilman Cimperman explaining everything. Got my fingers crossed!

I just left a voicemail for Councilman Cimperman explaining everything. Got my fingers crossed!

 

Email him also, his contact information is below.  http://www.clevelandcitycouncil.org/Home/CouncilMembers/Ward13JoeCimperman/tabid/87/Default.aspx

^ Thanks, I was looking for that but couldn't find it online!

no worries I have the councils and jacksons emails stored. and all city/county webpages bookmarked.

 

Besides my council person lives close by so I can just stop by and get his "attention" to issues I feel he is not addressing! :whip:

We recently had a quartet of "taggers" arrested for marking their territory (just like the dogs they are) in my Clintoville neighborhood.  The judge made the little curs pay fines and then spend some quality time cleaning up after themselves.

You want to see grafitti? Forget Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, etc. etc. Their taggers are lazy.

 

For truly obscene amounts of grafitti, visit the great cities of Europe. Yes, those places we love for their amazing architecture, bustling sidewalks, mixed land-use patterns and diverse transportation options are also havens of taggers.

 

There are parts of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City that are heavily painted. But the amount of grafitti I saw in Paris, Brussels, Cologne and even in parts of London (south side especially) was pretty disgusting. ...Especially when I expected so much from the great cities of Europe.

 

So don't single out Cleveland's grafitti as being something unique to our city. Ours is actually pretty clean in that regard.

UPDATE! Less than 24 hours later, the grafitti HAS BEEN REMOVED by the city of Cleveland's grafitti removal department! I want to thank the councilman and the grafitti removal guys for hearing my concerns out. And thanks Mayday for passing on the correct phone #'s. While feeling dissapointed and let down that the grafitti would never be cleaned up in my neighborhood, I am now proud of the way the city handled this. Now if only someone can clean up that recent mess that is all over the future Detroit-Superior Lofts. Someone wrote all over the old building - not sure if it is to be tore down or not, but somebody wrote an insanely large amount of writing/grafitti on the north and east sides of the building, completely visible from the Shoreway. It's not typical grafitti either - it's a long sentence in sloppy writing, something along the lines of "Please come back to me baby, I need you!" While it's somewhat silly, it's very distracting since that is supposed to be one of the most exciting new areas in the city for people to move to.

:-) That's great to hear that you got a response and it was removed, and kudos for following the proper channels. Sorry if I was a little harsh but like I said, it doesn't happen all the time but sometimes the city actually does something right ;-)

 

As for the Detroit-Superior graffiti - there was something similar scrawled on a utility box at the Abbey Avenue/West 14th/Innerbelt underpass. I imagine it might be the same person, but it was removed within a day so who knows.

UPDATE! Less than 24 hours later, the grafitti HAS BEEN REMOVED by the city of Cleveland's grafitti removal department! I want to thank the councilman and the grafitti removal guys for hearing my concerns out. And thanks Mayday for passing on the correct phone #'s. While feeling dissapointed and let down that the grafitti would never be cleaned up in my neighborhood, I am now proud of the way the city handled this. Now if only someone can clean up that recent mess that is all over the future Detroit-Superior Lofts. Someone wrote all over the old building - not sure if it is to be tore down or not, but somebody wrote an insanely large amount of writing/grafitti on the north and east sides of the building, completely visible from the Shoreway. It's not typical grafitti either - it's a long sentence in sloppy writing, something along the lines of "Please come back to me baby, I need you!" While it's somewhat silly, it's very distracting since that is supposed to be one of the most exciting new areas in the city for people to move to.

 

I think that you are thinking of the One Charter Place development (32nd and Detroit). The Detroit-Superior project is at 28th and Detroit. I noticed the graffiti on my morning jog. It is some plea for a guy to come back home. By the way, I love the candle graffiti that is on this building.

24 Hours??  Wow!  Kudos!

 

It took us a week.

Kind of makes one wonder who is lurking on the Urban Ohio threads.

An update on the graffiti on the future One Charter Place: its a plea from a women to the father of her daughter so that he'll come home.

In the city of Chicago and most inner suburbs, there are strict laws on spray paint and you can't buy it at most stores, and if they do have it, it is locked up and you have to be over a certain age or something.  Not sure what the rule is to buy it, I haven't needed spray paint in a long time.

^I believe that there is legislation along those lines in the works for Cleveland.

It really needs to be addressed as a police problem.  Not a public maintenance one.

 

For one thing, a lot of it's gang related and its not unheard of for gangs to take action against people (even property owners) they catch "disrespecting" them by cleaning up for their mess.

In some cases, yes - but the majority of graffiti in Cleveland isn't gang turf-marking, it's idiots (often teens who don't even live in the city) "tagging". While I think they should be prosecuted to the fullest, I don't see the CPD dropping their drug busts to take out taggers - as a city resident, I'd rather my safety forces have their priorities in order.

In some cases, yes - but the majority of graffiti in Cleveland isn't gang turf-marking, it's idiots (often teens who don't even live in the city) "tagging". While I think they should be prosecuted to the fullest, I don't see the CPD dropping their drug busts to take out taggers - as a city resident, I'd rather my safety forces have their priorities in order.

 

MayDay hit it on the head as the "taggers" near me only got community service and then their $*(&@$  !#$% !@#$#@$ parents tried to defend their precious little ##$%@  *$@%$  ##@'s handy work.

 

IIRC, there were also some kids from strongsville or berea that tagged the near westside and claimed "Cleveland is crappy" as an excuse.

 

I too think there is priority in fixing problems and you start with the bigger problems and the smaller issues wont develop.

^ and ^^, the only time we've seen the taggers being from the suburbs was when the 2 guys from Seven Hills and Valley View area got caught in Ohio City. I have some peachy news to update my situation in Chinatown since my last post regarding the grafitti on my street. Let's just say E Rocc is right. Within 48 hours of the grafitti being removed from the side of a building, there is already new grafitti. It says one word: CUNT. It's obviously retaliation for removing somebody's coveted grafitti. They obviously live nearby because it was a fast response and the grafitti is on the same exact building, same exact spot.

^ and ^^, the only time we've seen the taggers being from the suburbs was when the 2 guys from Seven Hills and Valley View area got caught in Ohio City. I have some peachy news to update my situation in Chinatown since my last post regarding the grafitti on my street. Let's just say E Rocc is right. Within 48 hours of the grafitti being removed from the side of a building, there is already new grafitti. It says one word: CUNT. It's obviously retaliation for removing somebody's coveted grafitti. They obviously live nearby because it was a fast response and the grafitti is on the same exact building, same exact spot.

 

Well keep calling.  Get your neighbors involved.  the harder you make it for the tagger the more united your block.

 

a few of my neighbors made signs and went around to Larchmere & West Park with "do you want my art on your property?"  &  "would you like to see my artist side?" signs.    The tagging stopped.

In some cases, yes - but the majority of graffiti in Cleveland isn't gang turf-marking, it's idiots (often teens who don't even live in the city) "tagging". While I think they should be prosecuted to the fullest, I don't see the CPD dropping their drug busts to take out taggers - as a city resident, I'd rather my safety forces have their priorities in order.

 

Oh I would too, even as a non-resident that works in the city.  But the problem's not likely to be solved unless its treated as a police problem.  That was Giuliani's approach in NYC, to basically go after everything large and small.  I doubt there's quite that much political will (or police resources) here.

 

In any case, how does one know if "HEK" is a signature, or gang code?  Most people wouldn't. 

 

As for the "c word" graffiti, I suppose if one really wanted to cause trouble one could ask if that's a message or a signature.    :evil:

In some cases, yes - but the majority of graffiti in Cleveland isn't gang turf-marking, it's idiots (often teens who don't even live in the city) "tagging". While I think they should be prosecuted to the fullest, I don't see the CPD dropping their drug busts to take out taggers - as a city resident, I'd rather my safety forces have their priorities in order.

 

Oh I would too, even as a non-resident that works in the city.  But the problem's not likely to be solved unless its treated as a police problem.  That was Giuliani's approach in NYC, to basically go after everything large and small.  I doubt there's quite that much political will (or police resources) here.

 

In any case, how does one know if "HEK" is a signature, or gang code?   Most people wouldn't. 

 

As for the "c word" graffiti, I suppose if one really wanted to cause trouble one could ask if that's a message or a signature.    :evil:

E Rocc...have you read what Mayor Jackson and the community want from the police?  You've made some pretty bold statements.

"E Rocc...have you read what Mayor Jackson and the community want from the police?  You've made some pretty bold statements."

 

It's one thing to say it.  It's another thing entirely to staff the police department, back them when they make the inevitable mistakes, and follow up when they catch perpetrators. 

 

What I have seen lately is at least one Councilman and one Congresswoman from Cleveland condone a mindset that makes a deceased wannabe armed robber a sort of victim, and his intended victim a target for hate and resentment.

 

It's not a bold statement to say that I'm skeptical that the will exists. 

"E Rocc...have you read what Mayor Jackson and the community want from the police?  You've made some pretty bold statements."

 

It's one thing to say it.  It's another thing entirely to staff the police department, back them when they make the inevitable mistakes, and follow up when they catch perpetrators. 

 

What I have seen lately is at least one Councilman and one Congresswoman from Cleveland condone a mindset that makes a deceased wannabe armed robber a sort of victim, and his intended victim a target for hate and resentment.

 

It's not a bold statement to say that I'm skeptical that the will exists. 

 

Then you're using selective reading skills

In some cases, yes - but the majority of graffiti in Cleveland isn't gang turf-marking, it's idiots (often teens who don't even live in the city) "tagging". While I think they should be prosecuted to the fullest, I don't see the CPD dropping their drug busts to take out taggers - as a city resident, I'd rather my safety forces have their priorities in order.

 

MayDay hit it on the head as the "taggers" near me only got community service and then their $*(&@$   !#$% !@#$#@$ parents tried to defend their precious little ##$%@  *$@%$  ##@'s handy work.

 

I actually like the idea of using community service to punish petty crimes like vandalism.  Let the kids see what it is to have to work and to try to make an improvement in their community.  If we can't cane 'em, lets make 'em work for us!

From the Ohio City Yahoo Group:

 

(copied directly from the post - not edited)

 

Graffiti taggers Daniel “Peek” Horvat of Wickliffe and Danny “

> Chang” Zhang of Seven Hills pled guilty to numerous felony counts

> in Judge Judith Kilbane-Koch’s courtroom this afternoon. Peek pled

> guilty to 24 felony counts, most of which were 5th degree felonies,

> and Chang pled guilty to a lesser amount. Sentencing is scheduled

> on September 10th at 9:00 am in Courtroom 22C.

>

> Our esteemed Community Based Prosecutor Colleen Reali requested a

> court watch presence today, as this is such a high profile case,

> along with the fact that the media was present in the courtroom.

> Present for the court watch were Councilmen Joe Cimperman and Jay

> Westbrook, along with our Safety Committee Chair Anthony Fossaceca,

> and committee members Michael “Sporty” Kilbane and Linda Dietrich,

> along with myself. Also present were three residents from Tremont

> and three residents from Ward 18. I hope that we can make a much

> larger court watch presence for the sentencing

>

> Remember that the Plain Dealer reported on 5/16/06 that Horvat

> (Peek) told the police he picked Cleveland for his vandalism,

> because “it’s a run-down, ghetto city, so who cares?” Well, we

> care. If you would like to write to the judge, please do so at the

> following:

>

> Judge Judith Kilbane-Koch

> Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas

> Courtroom 22-C

> 1200 Ontario St.

> Cleveland, Ohio 44113-1678

>

> Let her know how these crimes have impacted our community. I will

> send out a reminder notice concerning the sentencing date and time.

>

> Also, there has been a high incidence of hanging plants reported

> stolen off of front porches. Large ferns appear to be the target,

> and the incidents have all been in the central part of the

> neighborhood. The last report today mentioned that the wires that

> secured the plants to the hooks were cut. Make sure that you report

> any of these types of thefts to the Cleveland Police non-emergency

> number at 621-1234. No theft is too small to report!

>

> Bob Shores

> OCNW Safety Coordinator

Musky, thanks.

 

I enquired about these two pieces of sh!t earlier this week.

 

(to lazy to look now) but I wonder if this judge has email or a fax.

 

I will write - much to The Pope's surprise!  :roll: :-D

And on the other end of the spectrum:

 

 

 

Cleveland Public Art and Cleveland Area Scion Dealerships Present

City Xpressionz Urban Art Festival

Saturday, August 25 - 10am to 7pm

The corner of West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue in Ohio City

Entertainment Hosted by Q NICE

Featuring: Forrest Getemgump, Besto, Ceven, Santina, Onit, Camouflage Finesse, TUT, Red Strype

 

Special Performance by Progressive Arts Alliance Students at 11:30am

 

Aerosol Art Exhibition and Battles for Cash Prizes - $10 Entry Fee

Artists must bring their own paint and other supplies.

 

Bboy/Bgirl Battles for Cash Prizes - $5 Entry Fee

Hosted by Dre Live from Illstyle Rockers.

 

MC Battle for a Cash Prize - $5 Entry Fee

 

CITY XPRESSIONZ IS FREE TO WATCH.

 

 

Contact Cleveland Public Art for more information or to register at 216.621.5330 or email [email protected]. 

 

 

"In recent years, I've seen grafitti really take its toll on the city of Cleveland."

 

Yes folks - only in Cleveland is there untalented graffiti, and only in Cleveland do people drive slowly in the left lane, and only in Cleveland would a significant landmark be demolished, and only in Cleveland do they have a strange layout for a beer garden at a festival, and only in Cleveland... do you people ever get out of the 216 area code? As if any of the above problems are solely Cleveland phenomenon?!? :roll:

 

"There seems to be no desire by the city, the police, or organizations to even stop this problem or clean it up."

 

CITY of CLEVELAND Graffiti Abatement Program

 

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE DIVISION OF STREETS

 

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE: To ensure the removal of graffiti from all areas of the City of Cleveland

 

ACTIVITY:

 

Eradicate graffiti with the use of City employees and volunteers.

 

Enforcement of anti-graffiti ordinances.

 

Educating the public, especially children, concerning the negative aspects of having graffiti in the neighborhoods.

 

Empowerment of the community to take action to eliminate graffiti through the various community groups

 

Through this program the City will removes graffiti from commercial and industrial buildings at no cost to the owner. Since the program is complaint driven a company should call Barbara who mans the streets maintenance complaint line at (216) 664-2310. The request is then sent to either Mr. Warren or Mr. Powers for processing at the facility located at 49th and Harvard. The direct number to that location is (216) 432-6000.

......................

 

 

 

My street is COVERED in grafitti all over again. The same buildings that were cleaned up a couple of months ago are now 2-3 times as worse. I just called (216) 664-2310 as listed in the above message and it is the # to the law department for the city of Cleveland. The woman is a lawyer and can not help me. The other number is a man who has a speech impedament and told me "I'm trying to hel, helllllp you butttt call back, you call back, you call me back in 5 minutes, I'm trying to help you."

 

Plus, this time, the street was just re-paved in dark black tar last weekend and so of course someone had to use the street as a drawing board for grafitti using white paint. Also, the building at 3500 Perkins is a gorgeous brick neo-industrial design that is now being offered up as open space lofts and of course someone had to write CUNT on the original brickwork. Now it's been painted over and the building looks like shit. This 1910's building doesn't deserve the culture shock it got from the people who think they run this neighborhood. I hate the people who are trying to ghettofy things, but in less than 10 years they'll be run out permanently by gentrification and I'll still be here trying to keep the place clean and safe for everyone.

 

Anyways, to sum it up, I had to call the mayor's office to make a complaint. Who knows where the complaint will go from there. So sad and pathetic.

Follow the punks home, then tag their house. I doubt their parents will mind if their child is any indication.

It still hasn't been removed and I made a complaint 2-3 days ago to the "action center" in the office of the mayor. What a joke. I'd rather tag their faces though since they don't own no house or car or anything for that matter.

A business owner on the street this morning saw the grafitti criminals in the act at 4:30 am. There were 2 people: a black male and a black female in their 30's. They were destroying more private property with their illiterate grafitti. The man is probably who keeps spraying "SUPERMAN" on every building and the woman would be "ANASTASIA", since those 2 names appear 10-20 times on the street. The police showed up very quickly but the perpetrators were already gone. Now the police have an idea where these people live (it's not too hard to guess, considering there are only a few houses on Perkins Avenue). Now let's clean this shit off the buildings and arrest these ********'ers.

bizbiz,

 

what is your avatar? Is it grafitti? A stain-glassed window?

and if its graffiti, is it by Anastasia or Superman?  :mrgreen:

^^ It's just an image I created on Microsoft Paint using lines and fill ins.

 

^ LOL!

 

I just made another call to the mayor's action center and to the street cleanup program. I really hope this stuff can be cleaned up once and for all. I feel like a street so close to CSU and literally right in/next to downtown should not be going thru such bs.

Ohio City Yahoo Group:

 

Please be advised on the following update on Peek & Chang:

 

Graffiti taggers Daniel “Peek” Horvat of Wickliffe and Danny “Chang” Zhang of Seven Hills pled guilty to numerous felony counts in Judge Judith Kilbane-Koch’s courtroom last month. Peek pled guilty to 24 felony counts, most of which were 5th degree felonies, and Chang pled guilty to a lesser amount. Sentencing took place today, September 10th, in Judge Judith Kilbane-Koch’s courtroom. Here are the details of the sentencing:

 

Both Horvat and Zhang were each sentenced to 5 years of Court Controlled Sanction (probation). Both have been ordered to complete 400 hours of community service for each year of probation (yes, this means 2000 hours of community service). They will be required to work every Saturday for 8 hours in the various neighborhoods that they vandalized. A graffiti task force, consisting of all of the affected Community Development Corporation areas, will coordinate the community service work to be completed. Details on how this will work will be communicated at a later date, but the judge suggested that the work could involve the shoveling of snow for elderly residents during the winter months. I assume there will be many details that will need to be worked out on this.

 

The judge stated that Horvat could face a possible 10-1/2 year prison sentence if he violates the terms of his probation. Zhang could face 5-1/2 years in prison. Both will be subject to random drug testing. There is a hearing scheduled for October 24th at 1:30 pm in the same courtroom to review the restitution of damages incurred. The damages incurred by Horvat are estimated to be around $21,000. Pat Conway, co-owner of Great Lakes Brewery, is a key victim that testified at the sentencing.

 

Ohio City was well represented at the sentencing today, and Karl Johnson addressed the court on behalf of our neighborhood. The courtroom was filled with residents interested in the outcome of this sentencing, representing numerous neighborhoods, both east and west side. Our esteemed Ward 13 Councilman Joe Cimperman spoke on behalf of his ward constituents, citing the Plain Dealer article from 5/16/06 where Horvat (Peek) told the police he picked Cleveland for his vandalism, because “it’s a run-down, ghetto city, so who cares?” I believe the message was delivered to the judge loud and clear: We care about not only our individual neighborhoods, we care about Cleveland.

 

Bob Shores

OCNW Safety Coordinator

Now, if we can get half of the taggers in this town and slap them with the same penalties we will have an army of people doing community service to clean up the city with!

^ since i am in this line of business here's little tip. if you have obvious gang-related graffiti on your property and want to take it off while minimizing the potential retaliation factor here's what you can do:

 

never mess with the tag itself, but first secretly write "NFL" in various permutations a few places all around the tags (huh? did i just say tag your own building? yes i did). then let it sit for a few weeks like that so its seen a lot...then later clean it all off or paint it over w/o fanfare. yes that also means leaving it up longer than you would like and i cant promise anything except that hopefully they will go somewhere else to tag up next time. btw "nfl" = neutral for life, connotation being the gangbangers are outnumbered and its not disrespectful, the kids will know all about that. i hope that kind of nitty gritty tip helps a bit -- good luck!

 

Wow has anyone noticed the amount of graffiti.  i work on prospect and it looks like last night the city went crazy there is graffiti on almost every building and every pole and tree! does Cleveland even have a police force??? we are trying to move our business out of the city of Cleveland due to the amount of crime and the lack of police. does anyone know if there are going to be any improvements?

1. What's your business?

2. Do me a favor and use the search function before you post.

3. Do me another favor and read the posts in this thread.

Wow has anyone noticed the amount of graffiti.  i work on prospect and it looks like last night the city went crazy there is graffiti on almost every building and every pole and tree! does Cleveland even have a police force??? we are trying to move our business out of the city of Cleveland due to the amount of crime and the lack of police. does anyone know if there are going to be any improvements?

 

As a neighborhood resident I am really concerned about this, so I took a walk up and down Prospect, through Downtown.  I noticed a concentration of graffiti, some of it new, around East 17th to East 21st.  It wasn't nearly as bad as your description, but it was bad enough for me to think something needs to be done.  Is this the area you are talking about?  I am going to catalogue the graffiti and forward that to the Graffiti Removal Dept, and to the DCA.  Let me know, and we can try to get some action on it.

no my business is on east 36th and prospect it is horrible there have been people attempting to clean it up but it is useless, I even went past the new mcdonalds that there building and they even sprayed that too. That would be very nice of you to call the graffit removal dept. but I think it will be useless because this happens everyday. thank you

no my business is on east 36th and prospect it is horrible there have been people attempting to clean it up but it is useless, I even went past the new mcdonalds that there building and they even sprayed that too. That would be very nice of you to call the graffit removal dept. but I think it will be useless because this happens everyday. thank you

 

Continue to call, that is what this group is for. Continue to call the police.  Call/Email your council person.  Get your neighbors involved.  Call your community development assoc. 

 

The real crime is if you stop alerting people the people doing this win.