ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Graffiti has become a persistent problem across Rochester, with tags visible on walls, bridges and overpasses throughout the city.
Graffiti Alley
Chief investigative reporter Berkeley Brean said, “I drive 490, and like you, I am distracted by all the graffiti on the walls and bridges and all the attempts by the state to clean it up.”
Brean met Dave Raffa of Breaking Free Skate Park at the Alexander Street overpass, where graffiti is common. Raffa said, “I don’t want my taxpayer dollars going to repeatedly cleaning this up. So you hope there’s some sort of long term sustainable solution for this.”
In the past year, the state Department of Transportation painted 30,200 square feet of graffiti, costing taxpayers $150,000. While the state covers graffiti, the repairs often leave a blank canvas for new tags.
“If people wondered how people got down to the highway to tag these bridge abutments I’d say the answer is right here,” Brean said to Raffa. “There’s no fence. There’s nothing stopping them.”
“And my understanding is part of that culture is trying to get to those locations. They want their artwork to be seen,” Raffa replied. “And if you’re climbing up somewhere high, you get credit for that, street cred.”
The damage from powerwashing
Raffa, who helped build the downtown skate park, has spoken out against profane graffiti. “Children at the skate park – good! That (expletive) at the skate park – bad!” Raffa said on an Instagram post.
He pointed out the effects of cleaning methods on the skate park. “You can see – right here, nice and smooth. And right here, a lot more weathered, more porous,” Raffa said. And that damages the concrete.
Special anti-graffiti coating on new construction
Brean reported that the $50 million 590 bridge project in Brighton used a special coating on its walls. The coating does not repel graffiti but protects the concrete during powerwashing. The state DOT declined to comment on this approach.
The city’s Defacer Eraser team paints over graffiti on public buildings and will do so once a year for free on private property.Anyone who sees graffiti in the city can report it here.
Watch the Defacer Eraser Team clear two panels in less than 60 seconds:
Other cities have tried different solutions. In Washington state, drones are used to deliver paint to hard-to-reach places. “Drones are a unique way of delivering paint to infrastructure in places where otherwise you would have to use some sort of fall protection or a bucket truck,” Michael Gauger of the Washington State DOT said.
In Albany, OmniSightUSA radar sensors detect people entering high graffiti areas and alert police. “Our device is able to be proactive by detecting before the incident occurs,” Julia Skladzinski of OmnisightUSA said.
Brean said, “And then with those lights and sirens you scare the person away.” Skladzinski said, “Correct that is one option.”
Cleaning up graffiti across the country costs taxpayers between $8 billion and $12 billion each year, Brean said.
News10 Investigates: Graffiti on I-490, downtown bridges and across Upstate cost New York taxpayers $150,000 in one year WHEC.com.
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