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Graffiti Update
Graffiti UpDate – Mt. Hope
The Cypress Street underpass . . . 9 times it has been tagged since the City cleaned it and 9 times the MHGRTs (Mt. Hope Graffiti Removal Teams) have covered over the graffiti with paint supplied by the city. Direct citizen action, effective and uncomplicated, no meetings, few words, just action by concerned citizens. Look at this clean wall as of 2-6-06.
Cypress Street UnderPass -- Clean for 60+ days
I know that some people see graffiti as a petty crime and not worth focusing on, and they say it allows youths to express themselves creatively, that it makes the landscape more interesting, and that it is intrinsically urban. True: who am I to argue. Yet a coin has two sides, and I disagree in the case of Mt. Hope graffiti. Some of our graffiti is gang related, racist, and hate oriented. The graffiti in Mt. Hope signifies the power of forces that wish to see our neighborhood in decline, where forces of lawlessness, ignorance, and disrespect for property take precedence over working people who respect their environment. Private property is sacrosanct and vandalism against it is a crime and an insult, and public property, jointly owned by the citizenry, should also be considered sacrosanct and vandalism should not be tolerated by the citizenry who jointly own our public property.
I think that by law property owners are required to clean up graffiti on their property.
Take the sign pictured below, for instance -- when you drive north on Camp Street you have been treated to the sight of this graffiti for well over three years. The sign belongs to the Mt. Hope Learning Center, recipients of generous government funding. You would think that such an august institution that has contributed so much to our community, and is so dedicated to serving our youth, could organize a team of Mt. Hope’s young people to clean up the back of the Mt. Hope Learning Center sign of graffiti.
Learning Center Sign, Back
It is up to our community organizations to set a good example. Even the Camp Street Ministries has cleaned up their act, and the Mt. Hope Neighborhood Association has painted most of their facade. The seediest section of Camp Street, from Cypress to Grand View is now all under renovation with owners committing hundreds of thousands of dollars to renovating their buildings, which includes making them look aesthetically pleasing. Graffiti is an eyesore in any neighborhood, let alone Mt. Hope, a rapidly changing neighborhood undergoing gentrification.
The Mt. Hope Learning Center could be a good institutional neighbor by cleaning up the graffiti from the back of their sign. Perhaps an e-mail or two to the woman who works there, Ms. Ready, would help them see the light. I’m sure they want to be good institutional neighbors; they have just overlooked the symbolic nature and importance of allowing their vandalized sign to go unaddressed. Clean it up, please!
If need be, GCCC volunteers can clean up the back of the Mt. Hope Learning Center sign if the Mt. Hope Learning Center is incapable of doing it themselves. We’d be honored to do it. It would be our pleasure.
John Twomey
Posted at February 6, 2006 08:28 PM
Bravo, Alec, for your heroic efforts at keeping the wall under the Cypress Street walkway graffiti free. I thank you every time I drive by and see no graffiti. It makes such a nice difference. I wish more Mt. Hope residents were like you. I just wanted to thank you and let you know your work is appreciated.
Posted by: Irene at April 6, 2006 08:20 PM