Fox Canyon Neighborhood Association, Inc.

GRAFFITI

NEIGHBORHOOD WAR AGAINST GRAFFITI

Fox Canyon is best known in City Heights for its aggressiveness in combating graffiti and relentless paint-over efforts. Each year, the Association members accumulate thousands of volunteer hours just dedicated to keep the neighborhood streets' walls clean. Each one of the members holds a very important position and we all are an integral team in keeping Fox Canyon graffiti free. Our victories against this urban scorch, like dancing go back and forth, and side to side, according to the tide of vandals and gang member's activity in our hood. And so we rock the boat every once in a while without a real solution or a definite final victory. But the final push is just around the corner. In developing a several point strategy to be best effective in our endeavors, we can make a real difference in winning this war.

FOX CANYON STRATEGIES TO COMBAT GRAFFITI

a] With the Police Department -- Zero tolerance does work! Concentrate in providing good and sound description of gangmember-taggers to the Police Department. With location and time in which you see the vandals congregating to go out and paint graffiti [You will be able to follow the trail] (very important) to our CRO Ricky Castro (619-515-2732) or www.neighborhoodlink.com/sandiego/foxcan Police and Sefety Section (Click on Police Problem Solving Meetings [bottom of page]. By the end of this page, you'll find Officer Castro's hot link. Click on it and leave him a message).

b] Education -- Let's council with ALL our neighbors (specially THOSE who's kids are endlessly playing on the street without supervision), that graffiting in not sociably accepted in our neighborhood and that the neighbors will NOT tolerated it any longer. In addition, let us tell them that they are responsible for their kids actions, monnetary damages and a $500.00 fine.
Let us call upon our schools and colleges to include graffiti in their Social Studies (Adult Collage to educate resent arrivals) with the emphasis that this practice is NOT a sociable accepted behavior and that it is un-American to blast graffiti on walls or any other place.

c) Call 911 to report graffiti taggers (vandals) when the crime is in progress, the Police 531-2000, thereafter. You may receive a $500.00 reward, if YOUR information leads to the aprehension and conviction of a graffiti vandal (tagger).

d) Law & Emphasis -- Let's emphasized to everyone the need to paint-out graffiti within 24 hours. Let's call upon our Elected Representatives to codify better enforcement laws and shorten the time of enforcement from TEN days to 48 hours, two days, Max! If our City Fathers and Mothers are really serious to help us stump graffiti once and for all from our City's walls, we need a City Ordinance that reflects this intent.

e] Work -- Let's us continue with our mission to go out and paint-out graffiti and take back ownership of our neighborhood, one street and one hot spot at a time. Let's reclaim our UTILITY BOXES and find creative solutions on hot spots, when possible planting ivy and painting murals
1] At the next Association meeting (03/11/03) we will explore creative solutions, I will strongly encourage all our Fox Canyon Graffiti Paint-out Volunteer Team Members to attend this meeting and to volunteer to help paint the utility boxes with our own labor (Thanks to Councilmember Madaffer there is a $1,500.00 grant for paint and materials. Although this grant is for his entire District, Fox Canyon included, we will get help ASAP in getting paint and materials to paint the utility boxes, if we decide to do them ourselves).
2] Along the way, we also would like to do the utility boxes across the street (west of Euclid) on Council District 3, Councilmember Toni Atkins. Although the question of funding for these boxes still up in the air, we are strongly confident that we will receive a positive response from her office, as we always have.

f] Thanks -- We would like to express our sincere thanks and gratitude, always, to the URGAN CORPS SAN DIEGO (Sam Duran) for their valuable help in getting the BIG graffiti paint-out jobs done in our entire Fox Canyon area. Yesterday [Thursday 03/06/03), they come out in force and finished the job that our volunteers could not get-to from last weeks activity; to PROJECT CLEAN (Linda Pennington)for the paint and materials provided to some of our residents and to our very own GRAFFITI PAINT-OUT COORDINATOR (Ronald Gonzalez) for his efforts and all the work that is ahead of him. In addition, to our very special Fox Canyon residents that never let go of their volunteer jobs and self imposed obligations. Last but not least, to the FOX CANYON GRAFFITI PAINT-OUT VOLUNTEER TEAM for all their efforts and their dedicated work in keeping our neighborhood clean and graffiti free, many, many THANKS. we sincerely, hope that we can have you ALL abord and count with your volunteer labor in painting ART over the utility boxes and in a very near future, our MURALS.

OTHER HELP AVAILABLE

GRAFFITI CONTROL HOTLINE = (619) 525-8522

If more help is needed coordinating graffiti control, you may always leave an encouraging message for

Ms. Sonya Ollison, Manager,
Graffiti Control Program, NCCD
(619) 527-5449

and/or

MR. TOMMY THOMAS, Field Rep
Graffiti Control Program, NCCD
(619) 527-3105

For other related issues click-on the City of San Diego LINK.

Email us
tthomas@sandiego.gov