Graffiti artists targeting places not so pleasant for homeowners
5:52 p.m. Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Topeka's Code Compliance Division says graffiti is happening all over Topeka, but East Topeka seems to be hit the hardest.
"That building has been hit numerous times," Code Inspector John Schmidt said.
Those words were heard more than once today when we started digging and found where Topeka's worst graffiti is.
"Right along 6th Street and between the 300 and 400 blocks of...we'll call them the L Streets, Leland, Locust, Liberty," Schmidt said.
We rode along with Schmidt, as he checked homes and buildings tagged with gang signs and paint.
"A lot of times you'll see, well, one of the markings you'll see if EVL that's East Vatas Locos," Schmidt said.
Many places were in back alleys and the backs of buildings.
"Apparently somebody doesn't like Bryan, I don't know why," Schmidt said as he looked at another wall tagged, and takes picture after picture of places targeted.
Codes knocks daily, trying to clean up the city, but often runs into other problems.
"No understand little, little."
"Okay, do you pay someone to live here?" Schmidt tried to explain to someone who didn't speak English.
He explains the property owner can sign a consent form and the city will paint over the graffiti for free.
Adam Lespreance stays busy painting. Codes workers use a spray gun to cover the area hit by graffiti. There was about a five by three foot area covered with graffiti, and it only took him about 20 seconds using this. All it takes is a couple quick sprays and it's gone, but Lespreance doesn't need an address to know where the graffiti is.
"You start to be able to identify them by just what the building looks like. You can pretty much find it that way, you really don't need addresses anymore," Lespreance said.
People in the community says it's a big problem, and aren't sure what will make it go away.
"I don't see no way they can cure it, not unless they have foot patrols out 24-7 ,which of course that's not going to happen," bystander Joseph Rogers said.
Codes will be out trying to clean up the areas hit. Today we went to 16 different locations with Codes, and many of them were re-inspections a month later, to see if the property owner cleaned up the mess themselves.
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