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Home My WebLink AboutArticle - Downtown Idea ExchangeClean & Safe Fas# clear~~ap is t~e trick to ge##ing - arod stayir~g - grafi~iti-tree Speed ts the name of the game m ieducmg ~raffih's blioht So says Keep Amenca Beauhiul, the national nonprofit public education ui~amzution th~t colounded the education progiam G~atfiti Hurts Tl~ere s no easy solution to devel- opmg a speedy response, but vol- unteensm, broadened commumca- [ion, and public aducation all seem to help reduce gttiffitt through Che power o# commumty ownersh~p Adopt-a-spot volunteers One community that ucttvely takes on gratFiti is Santa Cruz, CA (pop J4,~90), where Graf~iu Free Santa Cruz is a volunteer-based pro- gTam thaYs sponsored by the City of Sanea Cruz Redevelopment Agency and admmistered Uy the Volunteer Center ot Santa Cruz County The City did not h~ive the wherewithal to elfectively manape its ~raffiti problem, says Julie Hendee, admmistrative analyst, City of Santa Cruz Redevalopment Agency, noang that the opnmum response ttme is wtthm 24 to 48 hours A gratFih hotlme and the ass~stance of volunteers m cleanmg (Conhrlued on page ?) Residential Development Coro7tv~urai~+j 4~enefots dis#ricts prove efFe~~~ve No c,enttal busmess d~strict exists as an island, neighbormg ies- idential neighborhoods play a I.ey iole in any b~nmess dtstr~ct's com- merce ind vtt~lity. WhttC's good tor one most often is good tor the o~her .1nd vice versa And it seands ~o ieason thal ~vh~tc woilcs 1or ~en- tral 6usines5 disti~cts, Stuinn~ ~vith ~m asseasment-dtrven ~lean ind ~ate pragram, can also work loi the preclommantly iesidennal neigh- boihoods ouhsida downtown A areat example ot that con- cept m acnon can be ~ound m Sal- nmore, MD (po~ 651 ~00) Residential district akin to a "small ~nllage" `[t's a lot h]<e bamg a small villa?e,' ~~uys Cliarles Smith, ~xac- unve ~ltrector ot the 35-percent ies- idennal Midtown Commumry Ben- (Conttrtiiied oiti ~~c~qe 5) Parking meters timed for quick visits Parking meters in front of the main post office of Santa Fe, NM (pop 62,200), were reprogrammed in March to deduct five cents and register three minutes for each CashKey insertion, instead of deducting 25 cents for 15 minutes All other meters around downtown still deduct 25 cents and add 15 minutes to the meter "Everybody's ~ust really thrilled that they don't have to spend for 15 minutes" when paying with their CashKey rather than coins, says Joyce Bond, marketing manager, Pub- hc Works Department, City of Santa Fe. "They can go m really fast, get their mail, and come right back out," she says. Contact Joyce Bond, City of Santa Fe, (505) 955-6852, ~ebondC~]santa- fenm gov, www santafenm gov. inside ~his issue Graffiti prevention tips . . . . . . 3 Emment domam invoked to turn hotel to student housmg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Density a key factor in top walkina cdies . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 7 8usiness association discusses security with city hall ..... 7 ~d 200d Alaeander Communicstions Gioup, Inc ali nghts reserved iaaiv uut5 JXL Downtown `~ Ideu ~scti.mge a publicanon of [he Downrown Re~earch & Deveiopmeot Cenrer 23 Weet 25tli S[ceet - Sth Floor New york, NY 10010-2705 Phone (?12)23fl-02A6 • Fax (212) 2?8-0376 Emyl m[oCDownrownDevelopmentcum We6srte www Down[ownDevelopment com j Edt[or Pntd Felt, ezt 119 ~ pfelt@DnwrunwnDevelopmen[ cnm , Customer Service i Mary Pngl~mol~, ezt !07 mP~iR~iuro(~~DorvntowrtDevelopment cnm Reprm[s and Perm~ssions MaryDalersnnd~a, ext 103 nudnlasemadrro@Douvrem~w2Developmenr com Pubhsher ~ Mnrgaret DeWut, ect !06 msdeiviit@DownrownDevelopment com Dnn ntawn lde~ E~chmige~' u pubhshed hv~~e moNhly by ~he fJownto~vn Re~earch dt Development Cznler The Cemer provideti newti, mtnrmatmn and annlys~s lor tu~- ~etistul downmwn revnahzanan thmuyh its n~w5leRe~s, i booA~, iepuas, and websrte Alexandar <ommuni~otions Group ~ ~, CELEBRAiING 50 YEAAS • 1954-2004 ~~O ?OOi AleianAer Cmrtnunucnnonr Grnup, Gic AR nylm ~eserved Nn pnrt n~NnsVuhlannat innv Ge I~eP~°~ucrd, Vnred m o rc(rievul twlem m tramm~rt I ted m qnv jnmt m hr amv i¢erms, electrome, mechnno I r~d, phnlocapvmy nr mhenuse, ivithnut the puor wrto- ,!en prrvmstmn nj Afeemider Cornrnun¢nnons Crcmry Please start/renew my one-year subscription to Downtown Idea i Exchange for $197 * i NAME ----'- - TIT~E _ _ _ _ '_____"-_ __' - __ _ FIRMIOpGANIZAiION a00RE55 l'-'-""- -' -~--'- -' -- CITY STATE ZIP ~ PHONE - -"-- "-" "- -- FAX - _ _ _ "__ _ " _ ~~ EMAiL -"- --- - - ; ifl MAIL, ^.8 West 25th Slreet - eth Flaor New York, NY 10010 ~I Im7 FAX, (212~ 22B-0376 ",~~ PMONE~ (800~ 232-4317 ~q EMAIL info~~owntown0evelopmentcom II~ Narth America, 5197 Clsewhere, 5227 ~ GncWaes ai~mail tleliverv) Fast cleanup is key -~on~~aL~~~rfYO,n~ab~e 1 up theretore made pertect sense Under Gra~tt Free Snnta Cruz, volunteers are encouraged to pledae to keep an area of their choosmg graffih-free, and they are grven a kit contammg 1n empty gallon pamt bucket, nontoxic graf- tin remover, a brush, chemical iesistant gloves, ra~s, satety gob gles, and a paper face mask The program currently has about 105 volunteers "People really do not hke graFFi- ti, so this has been an easy program to sell," says Hendee All lands of people, m all neighborhoods, volun- teer "I thmk our youngest member is nme" - the youngstet must be supervised by h~s mother m his b me-fightmg deeds - "and we [also] have some semor cmzens," she says. City provides funds; nonprofit insures volunteers Lucals have been instructed to report mcidents of graffiti vandalism not eo the pohce but to a 34-hour ~ra~ti hotlme that goes to the Graf- fiti Free Santa Cruz volunteer coor- dmator, who logs the mc~dents The City of Santa Cruz Redevei- opment Agency provides funds for the program und the coordmator's office, computer, and phone, Hendee says, and the Uolunteer Center of Sunta Cruz County employs the vol- unteer coordmator and provides the reqwsite msurance to cover the volunteers The Ciry ytaff removes ~raffih from pubhc properly, and if the van- dalism ~s to prrvate property, Giaffih Free Santa Cruz contacts the proper- ty owner If a pnvate property owner What motivates graffiti vandalism? Understanding what motivates people who write graffiti is some- thing "thaYs really important to know," says Connl Kunzler, Keep Ameri- ca Beautiful, Arlington, VA, who manages tha Graffiti Hurts program Understanding motivation "sets up the reason for why some of thase prevention things work." "Graffiti vandals, their goal is really fame - to get their tag, their graffiti, seen by everyone," Kunzler says That explains why rapid removal is the best thing to do for graffiti. "If you taka it down qwckly, it takes away that motivation," she says. While some graffiti vandals "really feel that they are artists and are making their communities more beautiful," Kunzler says, "most of them are ~ust tagging letters, all over the city." Social prestige within their lot comes from the visibtlity of their tags, as well as physical nsk undertaken in the tagging "A lot of them are members of graffiti crews," Kunzler adds, "and that gives them a real sense of collective power and rebellion " ~ As the saying goes, knowledge is power Graffiti Hurts, which Keep ~ America Beautiful started in 1996 with a grant from the Sherwin Williams I Company, prowdes a wealth of graffiti prevention information on its ~ website, www graffitihurts org, including spectal tips for businesses (see ~ box, page 3) ~ Contact• Conni Kunzler, Graffi6 Hurts, clkunzler@aol com, www graffrt~hurts org N15 ~ Downtown Idea ~xchange 1 www.0owntownOevelopment.com May 1, 2004 needs as5istance in iemoving the siatfiti, Giaffiti Free Santa Ciuz piovides supphes and, if available, volunteers "Neighborhoods where we have the really active volunteers are not gettmg any new oratfin;' Hendee says, but "we still have a loc of piob- tems on our mam comdor streets " Paint Out day encourages commurnty ownership Encouragmg volunteeiism and communrty owneiship are also part of the gralfiti-fightmg strategy for the City of Glendale, CA (pop 195,000), where Great Grn~ti Patnt Out and Commumty Clean- Up Day ~s a huge, and very social, graffiu and htCer cleanup anch May Tlic evenh took tYS cue from a local Boy Scouts chapter tl~at pamted out ~ratfiti m a park, says 7uan Gonza- ]ez, public education coordmator for the City The preregistered volunteers' Saturday mornmg efforts are re- waided with a community barbe- Graffiti prevention: Tips for downtown businesses How can a business prevent graffiti? Work with the community Ongoing upkeep. Make every effort to keep the appearance of a facility clean and neat. An exterior appearance that suggests apathy and neglect attracts vandals Littered parking lots, graffiti, broken fences, overgrown landscaping, and poor lighting all send a message to vandals that business owners are not attentive or do not care ahout the business Rap~d removal Rapid and continual removal of graffiti is the best way for businesses and commer- cial property owners to protect the image of their street and preserve customers' sense of security Studies show that removal within 24 to 48 hours results in a nearly zero rate of reoccurrence Contro/ access • Incorporate shrubs, thorny plants, and wnes to restrict vandal access, • Add or improve lighting around the buildtng to promote natural survedlance • Use fences, controlled entrances and exits, raiis, and other barriers that discourage through traffic. • Limit access to roofs by moving dumpsters away from walls and covering drainpipes to prevent vandals from scaling them Step up secunty • Install some type of security camera • Organize a"business watch" with merchants. Busmesses may want to employ securdy personnel to monitor property. • Don't allow a"legal wall," or an area that per- mits graffiti They are largely ineffective and may draw more graffiti vandals to the area. • Gmploy graffiti resistant matenals or coatings on a chronically hit wall • Mount a community paint brush mural on a chronically hd wall • Work with other merchants to organize and contripute to a"paint bank " Paints, rollers, brushes, and other equipment from the bank are "borrowed" as needed Ensure safe and environmentally appro- priate storage of paint. Consider a fire station to house the paint bank • Refrain from using graffiti images in ads or promoting graffiti in any way What should a business do if it's hit with graffiti? 1. Report. Contact the police to report graffiti vandalism using a non-emergency number. Some aties have an S00-number for reporting graffiti Make sure police complete an incident report, a common requirement of insurance companies 2 Ident~fy Work with local authorities to identify if the graffitl is being done by taggers (signature van- dais) or gangs. Check with law enforcement about safety concerns when removing gang graffiti 3 Document Take a picture of the graffiti before it is removed. Photographs will assist law enforce- ment in their investigation 4 Remove Remove graffiti promptly and completely Aesources • For community-based graffiti prevention resources, tap into Graffiti Hurts at www.graffiti- hurts org, or find a local Keep America Beautiful affiliate at www kab org. • To prevent theft and dlegal purchase of graffdi tools through responsible retaihng, visit the National Councd to Prevent Delinquency at www antigraffdi.org. Source Graffih Hurts/Keep Amenca Beautiful May i, 2004 Downtown Idea Exchange A svwwDowntownDevelopment.com 3