Can cameras, lighting and fines help permanently erase graffiti from the concrete wall next to the train tracks in Ansonia?
Alderman John Marini believes so.
Marini will present a draft ordinance to the Board of Aldermen this week that seeks to crack down on graffiti and graffiti artists in an effort to clean up Ansonia’s walls.
Ansonia has graffiti problems, specifically along the concrete wall along the Naugatuck River and train tracks.
For years, the city has fought the graffiti periodically by painting over it. Other times, the graffiti sits for months without anyone touching it.
Marini says the graffiti brings down the city, and promotes other crimes.
Marini first brought up his plans to fight graffiti in November.
If approved, his proposed ordinance would do several things:
- It would prohibit posting graffiti, or having “graffiti implements” such as spray cans or etching equipment, in public areas, or within 50 feet of a storm drain, bridge abutment or underpass.
- It would require stores in Ansonia that sell aerosol paint containers to store them in an area within eyesight of employees, or lock them up and require employee assistance to get to them.
- It would require store owners to post a notice that graffiti is against the law.
- It would fine anyone who posts graffiti or is caught with the equipment to pay a fine of $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second offense, and $1,000 for each subsequent offense.
- It would collect those fines into a fund to pay for graffiti removal in the future.
The proposed ordinance is posted at the end of this article.
Marini said the effort is two-pronged: Clean up the graffiti and prevent it from coming back.
Upfront Costs
As part of Marini’s research, he contacted a Deep River graffiti removal company, Off The Wall, to provide estimates for graffiti removal on the concrete wall next to the train station.
The company removed graffiti from a 20-foot-wide section of the wall in order to provide an estimate.
Off The Wall owner Joseph Prue said it took about an hour to remove the graffiti.
“It was a little bit longer (than other clean-ups) because of the age of the graffiti and the fact that they have painted over it with a concrete-based type paint,” Prue said.
Based on the time it took, Prue said the clean up would range between $7,800 and $13,2700.
The lower estimate is for graffiti removal for 1,300 feet of the wall. The higher estimate is for removal and clean up of the entire length of the wall.
Marini said that the city would have to seek bids before hiring a company, but he reached out to Off The Wall to give the Board of Aldermen an idea of what the process would involve.
Other Measures
Off The Wall also recommended Ansonia install cameras and lighting in the area to prevent future graffiti. Ansonia should also coordinate with the police department to set up undercover patrols for the first week after the removal, Off The Wall suggested.
When — and Prue does mean when — more graffiti appears on the wall, Ansonia should remove it immediately to discourage future tagging.
“When somebody puts a tag up, and somebody else sees it, it’s like a challenge to them to go put their own tag up,” Prue said. “If you efficiently remove it immediately, it tends to take the wind out of their sails.”
