Special Report to the West of Twin Peaks Observer

Taggers hit west Portalgraffiti on West Portal


By Mitch Bull

Vandals using spray paint cans tagged the West Portal Avenue and Junipero Serra Boulevard areas with a barrage of graffiti, upsetting residents, damaging storefronts and creating an environment that will prove costly to the city and local merchants.

 

The damage, which occurred during several days in late May, was widespread and affected many businesses and property owners in the West Portal corridor. Residents reported the tagging to the SF Police Department, who are still conducting an investigation to find the groups that are responsible. At the West of Twin Peaks Central Committee meeting in May, Sgt. Randall Young of the Taraval station told the concerned residents that the SFPD has a file with over 24000 different “tags” and the department would be comparing the new graffiti with their records to try and find out who defaced the property.

 

Cynthia Pagan, President of the West Portal Merchants Association told the Observer, “The police are being very responsive to this problem and are partnering with us to try and catch the people responsible and help to ensure that this type of thing doesn’t become a regular occurance”. The owner of the “Just Because Gift and Card Shoppe” went on to explain that the problem with graffiti tagging is that if it is not cleaned up by the merchants and property owners it helps to create a “self perpetuating” situation where the vandals think it is OK to come back and re-tag the storefronts.

 

At a time when the economy is less than robust, the cost of repairing and cleaning up a damaged storefront can seriously hamper the small business owner. “To replace glass that has been acid etched by vandalism can cost in the thousands of dollars, and unfortunately many of the shops are just scraping by at the present time”, said Pagan.

 

The long-vacant store that used to house “Waldenbooks” seemed to be a favorite target of the vandals, and has been tagged several times over the past several months with little being done to repair the obvious damage to the glass storefront.

 

When asked for the status of repairs, Jerry Moskowitz, a representative of the Edward Plant Co., says that the ownership is between a rock and a hard place, “The graffiti problem is a big issue as the empty, damaged storefront is ugly, but with the etching of the glass, the owner of the property can’t replace the glass and storefront and have this happen again. We have had some interest in the property but we haven’t yet had success in getting a retail tenant into the space. We hope to have someone in the near future so the damage can be repaired.”

 

Supervisor Sean Elbernd’s office is also working with the merchants to provide help. In mid-June a representative from Elsbernd’s office, Olivia Scanlon, and John Riley of the SF Graffitti Abatement Department walked the street to see the damage and meet with some of the merchants. Although the City has several “graffiti abatement zones”, the West Portal Avenue corridor is not included in the list, as it hasn’t had a long term problem with tagging, unlike some of the more heavily traveled urban areas such as Mission Street.

 

Pagan felt that the walkthrough was important as Riley and Blackstone took photos and documented the extent of the damage and explained that the City would contact building owners and set up a timeframe for repairs. If repairs are not made in a timely manner, the owners can be subjected to fines and citations. The merchants association is hoping to have a “one time” city fix applied to assist with cleaning up the damage in the open space areas that were tagged.

 

They are also working proactively with local business owners to help in the battle with graffiti by encouraging store owners to partner with their landlords to install a new type of window film that will help to prevent the “acid etching” damage from some sprays.

 

In addition, within the next week or so, the association will have the sidewalks power washed and the “West Portal” banners reinstalled up and down the street. The banners were taken down from wind damage earlier in the year.

 

The public can also help in the fight against graffiti by calling 311 to report instances of tagging and to assist the City in documenting any damage that has been done.