Mayor Taveras' Graffiti Task Force, Mural Program Combating Graffiti Throughout Providence

Mayor Angel Taveras joined today with his Graffiti Task Force to announce his citywide graffiti removal and innovative public art campaign.

"Graffiti is a quality of life issue that is a high priority for my administration. Graffiti will not be tolerated in any neighborhood in Providence," said Mayor Taveras. "We also ask parents to talk to their children and help them understand that graffiti is a serious offense that harms their community. There are other ways for them to express themselves."

The City's Graffiti Task Force, a partnership of the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services, the Department of Public Property and the Police Department, combats graffiti through a combination of graffiti removal, enhanced public awareness and rewards of up to $500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of vandals.

The Graffiti Task Force employs two vans outfitted with high-pressure sprayers and paint. Graffiti vandals who are caught pay a $1000 fine, as well as restitution for damages and 200 hours of community service.

In addition, anyone who sells aerosol paint containers, broad tipped markers, etching equipment, paint sticks or graffiti sticks to a minor without written permission from a parent or guardian may be held criminally responsible.

Residents are urged to call 800-TAGGERS to report graffiti or to have graffiti removed from their property.

They may also file a report online at www.providenceri.com/graffiti. The City's QAlert system enables anyone who wants to report graffiti to upload a service request into the city's automated QAlert system. The request will be electronically tracked and the resident will be notified when the graffiti has been removed.

The Graffiti Task Force removes all graffiti reported as quickly as possible, with priority given to city property. Graffiti reported on private property will be removed in 7-14 days.

For the first time, the Graffiti Task Force is working this year with the City's Department of Arts, Culture & Tourism and three community groups on an innovative program to combat graffiti with murals and public art on transformer boxes.

This public art approach to combating graffiti has been highly successful in Philadelphia and other cities.

"Cities across the country have been working proactively to combat graffiti by putting their artists and taggers to work creating artworks that prevent graffiti from occurring," said Lynne McCormack, director of the Department of Art, Culture & Tourism. "Our programs will be modeled after the successful efforts in other cities, most notably Philadelphia's mural program, which is not only an anti-graffiti program but a neighborhood destination development success story."

The City is working with the Atwells Avenue Merchants Association, the Broad Street Merchants Association and the Woonosquatucket Greenway Association to paint murals at graffiti hot-spots on Atwells Avenue, Dean Street and the Route 10 Restoration.

The murals will be painted by local artists selected by the City and the community groups.

At the same time, artists will cover graffiti defacing 100 transformer boxes on streets throughout Providence with one-of-a-kind art. Both the public mural and the transformer box projects will be paid for using federal Community Development Block Grant funds.

"It's exciting to see a dirty tagged wall blossom into a piece of art. Murals build stewardship, create a sense of place, highlight neighborhood assets and help plant the seeds of change," said Lisa Aureccia, program director of the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council.