While most of the neighborhood was admiring the beautiful snow that fell over Wallingford last night and enjoying the peacefulness it brought along with it, an individual(s) was busy tagging 45th Street businesses with graffiti. While venturing out this afternoon I spotted several businesses that have been tagged up and down 45th Street. I can’t be the only person who finds this act of damage appalling. Hopefully SPD finds the culprit(s) behind the 45th Street graffiti!
Hmmm. I have mixed emotions about this article. I would love to catch this person, but at the same time, showing all the tagging pictures just gives them the attention they want.
Oooh how beautiful! Free public “street art” for all to enjoy and admire!
There’s an existing Police report if your property was hit as well. Contact the Seattle Police at 206-625-5011.
grafitti vandalism deserves a 5 year minimum jail sentence
Is someone willing to organize a neighborhood cleanup party??
At least at the Iron Bull it kind of matches the color scheme.
Oh man! Someone tagged the back of Lincoln High too. I took a picture from my porch at midnight with no tag, and then saw the tag first thing this morning. Grrr
I love graffiti but this is bad graffiti. I hate that its stuff like this that gives street art a bad name. This was done by someone who doesn’t care about our neighborhood. Let’s give him no credit and clean it up fast!
I believe the Seattle Police Dept. has been building a database of the different tagging styles that these self-proclaimed “street artists” use to sully our communities, Hopefully, that and the ever-growing number of private security cameras should help in catching this idiot (looks a lot like the same style in all of the pictures).
My own suggestion for punishment? A serious fine, two years probation along with a bucket and a couple of toothbrushes. They should be made to clean all of their crap off everyone’s building while wearing a sign and/or a t-shirt that announces who they are and why they’re being made to do what they’re doing. Public humiliation never hurt anyone and it would probably go a long way in dissuading any more stupidity. We seem to have lost sight of the value of shame in this “modern” society of ours.
Oh how awful and upsetting! We must clean this up at once. I’m sure there would be no shortage of resident volunteers. Look at this great environmentally safe product I found to remove spray paint from brick, concrete and street signs!
http://www.parish-supply.com/mots_40.htm
The painted buildings need painted over, I suppose.
Such a huge bummer. I saw this on my way to get coffee yesterday morning. RobertinSeattle, I echo your thoughts on public humiliation. On top of that, I always have this dream graffiti idiots are caught and eye for an eye punishment is employed. They deface property? They should also be defaced with a nice permanent tattoo of their “art” where everyone can see it, ear to ear on their face. Either that or SPD is allowed into their home to deface their prized possessions. Harsh, but likely an effective and I believe fair way to punish.
Does the city clean up or is it up to the neighborhood to organize?
unlike some other types of crimes, i do believe a stiff punishment can act as a deterrent for vandalism like this. some jail time should “scare them straight”..although i also like the public humiliation route…
I’ve had an ongoing problem with tagging on my retaining wall mural and in my carport for the past few years at my house over on 50th. The mural was done back in ’97 by the kids at Spruce Street School and remained untouched until about four years ago. My carport, like many others here, became porta potti, storage locker, campsite and drinking spot for street drunks (even when my car was parked inside!) when the Alcohol Impact Area came into being. Then the taggers started hitting the carport, too. SPD has asked me to call them with each event so they could photograph the tags and catalog them. Thus far, it seems the tags weren’t gang-related, but “merely” malicious or some stupid hate-speech. Then on New Year’s Eve at 6:11 p.m., I was approaching my carport from 50th and saw a younger black man (late teens, early 20’s) dressed in dark sweats, dark flight jacket and dark stocking cap emerge from my carport with a spray can in his hand and head west on 50th at a fast clip. He had left behind a series of letters and numbers sprayed on one wall, which several people have told me are gang signs and not a plain old “tag”. I wasn’t able to catch up to him to get a photo (or, in my fantasy, to make him come back and clean up the mess!). I got a shot of the tag and then immediately painted it out, but didn’t call the police until a few days later since I knew they’d be a bit busy on New Year’s Eve. The SPD officer who responded is having me send the photo to the Gang Unit, too. Uh oh… I don’t really see any way to stop this. Does anyone have any ideas? I hate the idea of installing bright motion-sensor lights all over the place, but I don’t know what else to do. I also wanted to share the information from the city graffiti education department that came out with some volunteers and painted out some of the tagging for me:
Daniel Sims
Seattle Public Utilities
Graffiti Education and Outreach
700 5th Ave. Suite 4900
PO Box 34018
Seattle, WA 98124-4018
(206)684-7790
[email protected]
http://www.seattle.gov/util
There was a truck called something like “Graffiti Go Away” (it was a better name, but you get the idea) parked over by the condos across from the Iron Bull. Looked like they were spreading out up and down the street.
It starts with small crimes like postering left up. The impression is given that no one cares or is watching. Then it’s stickering. Then it’s tagging. Then it’s property destruction. Then it’s theft. Nip it. Nip it in the bud.
Respect starts at home. It seems that kids who aren’t brought up to have any discipline (and self-discipline) or respect tend to go out into the world and do whatever they want to do with no regard or respect for others. I still adhere to the philosophy of shame and punishment to nip it in the bud before it escalates. Totally agree with Steve and many of the others here who have also been following this discussion.
you all just don’t understand art.
There are ways to reduc ethis stuff. Neighbor hood patrols.
Get together.
Go patrol.
It will nto be easy, bu tthey hav ebeen increasing their presence ove rthe last 3 years.
This is Wallingford. STOP THEM
Seems like we have had an increase in a lot of things since the the alcohol impact zone went into effect and our neighborhood being just north of it means a lot of folks downtown didn’t want are now in our neighborhood. How can we increase the zone to put our neighborhoods of Wallingford and Greenlake “in the Zone”?
joe momma – that crap vandalizing other people’s property and businesses isn’t art, not by a long shot. If you like this “art”, let’s publish your address and let the vandals tag your home.
there is a new huge tagging onthe building across from Video Isle on Fremont… it is nw since Friday.
There is another complete vandalized retaining wall on Market coming east up the hil.. a whole wall is covered in zig zag white slashes.
this has to be stopped.