PAINT RELIEVER

State law aims to curb graffiti by requiring property owners to cover up vandalism quickly
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/7/06
BY LARRY HIGGS
COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU

"Siege" is under siege. "Germ" is about to be exterminated.

These names, of graffiti "taggers," are spotted on a sound wall along Route 18 in Eatontown and on the back wall of a commercial building in Red Bank, and they are headed for oblivion under a new state law requiring property owners to remove or paint over the vandalism in 90 days or less. The law, which took effect this year, gives the state Department of Transportation 120 days for graffiti removal from its facilities.

Red Bank officials amended the borough's graffiti ordinance last month to conform to the new state law, and other municipalities are likely to follow suit.

The idea is that speedy removal of spray-painted tags and scrawls will discourage others from adding their own graffiti to a location, said Debra Kole, attorney for the New Jersey State League of Municipalities.

"Towns have been doing this for a while. Ordinances provide that the property owner had to remove it, but they had different time periods," Kole said. "This is a law that standardizes the provisions."

Local ordinances can vary from 10 days to a month for property owners to comply after receiving a notice from the municipality, Kole said.

Reaction from business owners is mixed.

"If it's major graffiti, it will be expensive to remove," said Robert Kammerer, owner of the Kitchen Gallery on Mechanic Street in Red Bank. "Dealing with graffiti by removing it isn't the solution. I'd rather see them catch (the person) and make them provide restitution."

The cost to remove graffiti from the stucco back wall of the store he leases was around $500 to $600 to sandblast and repaint it, Kammerer said.

"It's not so funny if they hold the kids (who do it) accountable," he said.

Asbury Park gives property owners 30 days to remove graffiti; however, officials said their goal isn't to give out tickets. The city's comprehensive graffiti ordinance, which predates the state law, has met with some success, said Bill Gray, Asbury Park director of inspection.

"We try and do it without writing tickets. Obviously the property owner is a victim, and it costs them money," Gray said. "If they paint over it, kids get tired, and they stop it."

Asbury Park officials work with police and public works to watch for vandals, but an important tool is to eradicate graffiti as soon as it appears, Gray said.

"It's perseverance. Keep covering it up, and it will stop," he said.

Gray tells property owners to keep paint on hand and to "paint over it and continue to paint over it" until the graffiti stops. He also encourages business owners to call police.

Red Bank police made two arrests this year of a 21-year-old Middletown man and a 17-year-old borough boy, both charged with criminal mischief for graffiti, which cleared 15 of the cases reported this year and three in 2005, Lt. Stephen McCarthy said. The borough has had a total of 38 reported incidents of graffiti so far this year and 43 in 2005.

Immediate cleanup is a deterrent, and police insist that restitution is part of any settlement or plea bargain, he said. In the case of the Middletown man, he cleaned up the graffiti before his court date, McCarthy said.

"As far as the police go, we'd like it cleaned up as soon as possible," McCarthy said. "It makes people think it's acceptable to do it if they see it."

Some people who mark buildings with graffiti do it because they want their tag name or alias to be seen, he said.

"If it's covered up, no one sees it," McCarthy said.

RiverCenter, Red Bank's downtown alliance, backs the 90-day removal requirement, said Tricia Rumola, executive director.

RiverCenter also has offered rewards leading to the prosecution of people who deface downtown buildings with graffiti. The alliance also paid artists to paint murals on two large traffic signal control boxes downtown, which were graffiti targets.

"Property owners and businesses are victims, but not removing it creates more graffiti and victimizes businesses that keep their buildings clean," Rumola said. "We feel it (anti-graffiti laws) was a good decision on the state and borough level."

Larry Higgs: (732) 643-4277 or lhiggs@ app.com