West Seattle Graffiti

[Schmitz Park Dad]

I have been noticing a disturbing trend around West Seattle this summer. I’ve noticed a drastic increase in graffiti recently. Last night we went to Ercolini Park and noticed some vulgar graffiti on the porta-potty. Image how Mr. Ercolini would feel if he spotted this vandalism on the land he dedicated as a neighborhood park and the original site of his family’s home. I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Ercolini at the park opening last year and he was delighted to see his vision of his family’s land come to life.

I went back this morning and cleaned up the graffiti. I’ve found it takes a lot less effort to remove the graffiti than it does to explain to my seven-year-old daughter why someone would do such a thing to a beautiful, neighborhood park. This is the second time this summer that Ercolini Park has been tagged with graffiti. My daughter and I cleaned up the first round of graffiti.

I’ve tried contacting the city’s graffiti hotline, but I find the city slow to respond, or there is no response. Our family has adopted the approach that this is our community and we are partially responsible for its appearance. We’ve created a “graffiti removal kit” that we keep in the garage, consisting of some “Goof Off” (or “Oops), rags, rubber gloves, and a scouring pad. We’ve found that the sooner the graffiti is removed, the easier it is to remove it. If graffiti paint is not removed after a couple of weeks the paint will cure and become much harder to remove. If the graffiti can be removed within a day or two, it comes off very easily with some “Goof Off” and minimal scrubbing. My daughter and I have taken on several graffiti removal projects this summer and we’ve found it makes us both feel good and strengthens our bond to our neighborhood and our West Seattle community.

If we can all do a little to remove graffiti quickly in our neighborhood, the vandals will

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[JayDee]

Keep up the good fight — I focus on signage and public utilities between 49th/Charlestown/59th/Admiral (up to Alki Mail and Dispatch). I use lacquer thinner and cover-up paint of various colors. While I know the city and City Light/Metro do a pretty good job, I prefer to do something about it when I see it. Solidarity!

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[ToddinWestwood]

Schmitz Park Dad, A HUGE thanks from all of us goes out to you and your daughter.

If we ever meet, I will buy you a beer.

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[JoB]

Schmitz Park Dad and JayDee…

If we all chose to clean up our own little patch of the neighborhood, this would be a much better place to live.

thanks for making a difference where i live.

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