Photo: GoFundMe (Michael Perlman)
Oct. 30, 2020 Staff Report
A local group that formed last month to combat an uptick in graffiti is looking for financial help in order to buy paint and power-washers to clean up the neighborhood.
The volunteers, who established the Forest Hills and Rego Park Graffiti Cleanup Initiative, launched a GoFundMe earlier this month with the goal of raising $5,000 to cover the cost of supplies to rid the area of graffiti.
The group, co-founded by community advocates Michael Perlman and Michael Conigliaro, was formed in response to city budget cuts and increased graffiti.
The organizers say that they have seen more graffiti since the mayor decided to suspend the $3 million Graffiti-Free NYC program in March. The program allowed residents and business owners to make a 311 complaint about graffiti–and the city would arrange for its free removal.
“Graffiti is an urban blight that impacts our community’s quality of life by compromising its character, cleanliness, and property values, as well as contributes to additional graffiti if not cleaned as soon as possible,” Perlman wrote on the GoFundMe page.
The group has raised a little of $1,000 to date.
One Comment
has jvb come out and condemned this on zoom as insensitive and racially motivated?