City rolls out hardcore anti graffiti program

Newburgh – There’s a good possibility that if you approach a building with a can of spray paint in the City of Newburgh this summer, you may hear this.

“Stop. This is a restricted area and your photograph was just taken. We will use it to prosecute you. Leave the area now.”

That’s a voice on an automated camera that will be mounted in the city to aid in catching graffiti taggers.

It’s part of the city’s new, all out war against graffiti. Police Det. Chris Swenson is in charge of the effort.

“What is graffiti? The best definition I can come up with is it’s the newspaper of the streets,” he said. “It kind of tells you what’s going on. If you know how to read it and know what you’re looking for and evaluate it, it really tells you what’s going on out there.”

And Mayor Nicholas Valentine and Chief Eric Paollili said often times, graffiti is gang related, with members staking out their territory or making a statement.

City Manager Jean McGrane said the city is enlisted the aid of its residents with a hotline number.

“If they see an act of graffiti in play, because we want to be able to apprehend the graffitiers, and that number is 569-7551.”

The city is hiring two full-time “graffiti cops” during the summer months to keep a lid on it. They have also purchased equipment and chemicals to remove the markings rapidly.