Release #446-98

Contact: Colleen Roche/Jennifer Chait (212) 788-2958

Work Experience Program (WEP) Workers Join Anti-Graffiti Drive

The Mayor also announced that participants in the Human Resources Administration's Work Experience Program (WEP) will be taking part in graffiti removal programs throughout the City. Over the next few weeks, the Mayor's Task Force will undertake similar anti-graffiti sweeps in Bushwick, Brooklyn and the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

"From day one, my Administration has been committed to improving the quality of life for all New Yorkers and our anti-graffiti campaign has been a major part of that effort," Mayor Giuliani said. "These neighborhood anti-graffiti initiatives demonstrate how we can improve the City, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, storefront by storefront.

"The City's Anti-Graffiti Task Force was created in 1995 to bring together resources in a concerted and coordinated effort to combat graffiti, and the results speak for themselves: The Department of Transportation has eradicated 23.8 million square feet of graffiti since July 1994 and the Citywide cleanliness rating for graffiti in our parks has risen from 73 percent in the Summer of 1993 to 96 percent in the Summer of 1998," the Mayor said.

"Today we are adding two important weapons in our fight against graffiti vandalism: the Department of Sanitation's new computerized graffiti removal truck and the help of WEP participants," the Mayor continued.

"A city with an increasing amount of graffiti is a city in which the rights of its people are being disrespected. Conversely, a city with decreasing amounts of graffiti is a city in which the rights of people are being respected. These initiatives help restore respect for the community and bring together City agencies and community groups in the fight against graffiti," the Mayor concluded.

Queens Borough President Claire Shulman said, "This latest attack in the war on graffiti brings a network of City services together in an effort to wipe out a common enemy. Thanks to our Borough Task Force and the commitment of neighborhood volunteers and grass roots community organizations, the scourge of graffiti has abated in recent years. At the same time, however, initiatives like this send a clear message to vandals that the war against this blight continues. I want to thank the Mayor, the Department of Sanitation and the volunteers who give up their time and energy on behalf of their neighborhoods all year round. They are true urban heroes."

The initiative in Elmhurst, which is targeting 50 square blocks in the area bounded by Junction Boulevard, Queens Boulevard, 54th Avenue and the Long Island Railroad tracks, will take approximately one week to complete.

The Mayor presented appreciation awards to community groups for their efforts in the Elmhurst area as well as their ongoing commitment to keep their community graffiti-free. Many community groups are volunteering in the Elmhurst graffiti cleanup, including volunteers from Newtown High School, Stuyvesant High School, the New York Elmhurst Friendly Society, Residents For a Safer Community, Geller House - Jewish Board of Family and Children Services, the Christian Revival Temple, the Corona Business Association, the Police Department's Explorer cadets, the Lost Battalion Hall Recreation Center, Public School 7 Parent Teacher Association and Intermediate Schools 5 and 61.

Joining the Mayor at today's kickoff were Community Assistance Unit Commissioner Rosemarie O'Keefe, Department of Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty, New York City Police Commissioner Howard Safir, Human Resources Administration Commissioner Jason Turner, Department of Transportation Commissioner Wilbur Chapman, Department of Business Services Acting Commissioner Deborah Weeks, Deputy Queens Borough President Peter Magnani, and over 100 community volunteers.

• The Department of Sanitation (DOS) has designed a new state-of-the-art graffiti-removal truck that can clean and custom-paint a defaced site in its original color. This new truck greatly reduces the amount of time necessary to paint a vandalized area and represents the latest in graffiti-removal technology. It was built entirely by DOS personnel in their local shop.

• The Human Resources Administration (HRA) will commit eight teams, consisting of six WEP participants each, to graffiti removal projects in Washington Heights, the "HUB" area of The Bronx, Church Avenue in Brooklyn, and Pitkin Avenue in Brooklyn. An outside contractor will supervise the WEP workers. HRA will coordinate their graffiti removal efforts with other agencies of the Mayor's Anti-Graffiti Task Force.

• The New York City Police Department (NYPD) provided more than 50 volunteer "Explorer" cadets to assist in the cleanup. The Police Department will survey over 300 United States Postal Service mailboxes in the Elmhurst area and coordinate painting and cleaning of any defaced mailboxes.

• In addition, the Police Department's Anti-Graffiti/Vandalism Unit will prioritize surveillance in each of the neighborhoods scheduled for graffiti cleaning so that vandals defacing property in those areas face a greater possibility of arrest. The Hotline phone number is (212) 374-5914 and should be used to report graffiti vandalism in progress.

• The Police Department's Model Block on 80th Street between Roosevelt Avenue and 41st Avenue in Queens has been a tremendous success. The NYPD Model Block Program is designed to reduce drug and crime-related activity on a particular block by organizing block and tenant associations to help address any problems, including graffiti. The associations work closely with local precincts. The Police Department's informational and enforcement efforts also help a neighborhood that has been cleaned of graffiti stay that way.

• The Department of Transportation (DOT) will clean or replace hundreds of defaced light poles and signs in Elmhurst.

• The Department of Business Services (DBS) examined all of the business storefronts in the Elmhurst area and contacted over 50 businesses with defaced storefronts to obtain consent to allow the City to remove graffiti from their property and/or repaint their property. DBS has requested that each of the business owners commits to maintaining their property graffiti-free once the City's cleanup is completed. Business owners will also be provided with paint and supplies so that they can repaint their storefronts if they are vandalized in the future.

• The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) conducted a sweep of the Elmhurst area to determine whether any stores were selling spray paint to minors in violation of the law. Only one of the five local paint sellers sold spray paint to minors in violation of the law. Merchants were given fliers stating that the sale of spray paint to minors is against the law and explaining how they should properly display their spray paint. DCA had earlier conducted a Citywide sweep of 43 paint stores that resulted in $25,000 in fines to stores that violated spray paint sale laws. DCA's enforcement efforts are an integral component to keeping an area graffiti-free once it has been cleaned.

• The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) identified 119 fire hydrants in the area in need of repainting. Volunteers were provided with paint and supplies to repaint them.

• Additionally, the Fire Department, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Parks Department have surveyed their properties in each of the graffiti-removal areas and will clean up their properties as needed.

• The Mayor's Paint Program provides free paint and supplies to community members seeking to remove graffiti from their neighborhoods. For information on how to qualify for these supplies or to receive an application for free paint supplies, please call (212) 788-7421.