Roosevelt Graffiti and Upcoming Multi-Neighborhood Graffiti Meeting Mentioned on Komo4 News
KOMONEWS.COM TUESDAY, MARCH 29TH 2016
SEATTLE — Residents in Seattle’s Roosevelt neighborhood are sick and tired of all the graffiti in the area, and now they’re fighting back.
Vandals have been targeting street signs, buildings and even homes in Roosevelt in recent months.
Katie Wood is a member of the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association, which is trying to raise awareness about the graffiti problem that some say is getting worse.
“I like knowing we’re living in a safe neighborhood,” she said. “Having graffiti everywhere — while Roosevelt is safe neighborhood — it gives appearance it might not be, and I don’t like that.”
Seattle police get about 800 reports of graffiti each year. A detective who investigates the cases spoke last week at the Roosevelt neighborhood meeting to educate resident on the issue.
“His answer was, on average, you’re not seeing more, but because of construction in area we’re seeing buildings in transition and that attracts them,” Wood said.
Much of the development is happening along Roosevelt Way near Sound Transit’s Light Rail project, where a historical mural has repeatedly been defaced.
So far, residents say the best way to combat the vandalism is to remove it as quickly as possible, but that can be a daunting task.
Next month there will be an event to discuss Seattle vandalism. The meeting will take place April 21 from 6-8 p.m. At the University Heights Center on University Way.